Alpha Female
by these dreams go on
Summary: A/U- Once heir to one of the largest werewolf packs in America, Caroline is now an orphaned young woman being held captive by the enemies of her bloodline but a chance encounter with the most powerful Alpha alive, Klaus, will ignite passions, topple dynasties, threaten entire bloodlines and set them all on course for an epic war. Pairings Klaroline/Kennett/Elejah
1. Prologue

A/N- I own nothing associated with Vampire Diaries. This is an A/U story but characters from both VD and TO will be making appearances.  
Only this first chapter will be in first person POV, every chapter after will be third person.  
As always- I'm Australian so I use Australian-English spelling

* * *

Caroline's POV

I was still a little girl when my world ended.

Before that everything was fine.

Enchanting even.

Yeah, I like the sound of that.

I lived life in an enchanting fairy tale.

My castle was a two storey stone cottage in the woods, with rose trellises that my mother and my two aunts had spent days and hours striving to make grow and blossom.

They loved the picturesque beauty as much as I did.

There was a little pond in the front garden under an old oak tree where my father left bird seed so that we'd have ducks and in the spring little ducklings would eat from my hand.

It was one of the few times I would sit still and wait patiently.

The rest of the time I was running everywhere, desperate to enjoy everything the world had to offer.

In the morning I jumped from my pink and white canopy princess bed and ran down the hall, rushed down the white carpeted stairs with the bannister that I slid down whenever I was being babysat, into the kitchen where I'd had bowls of fruit and yoghurt in the warmer months and porridge when it grew cold.

My mother and father were always up before me, my father drinking black coffee and reading the newspaper while my mother got ready for work.

My father was the tallest man in the world and my mother the most beautiful.

They were hopelessly in love and utterly content with their lot in life.

Or at least, that is how I perceived everything with my young eyes.

In my world, the Kings stayed home and watched over the kingdom while the Queens went out and slayed the evil dragons.

Every morning I ran to the living room window and waved goodbye to my mother as she drove off for work.

Then my father would usher me to the bathroom so I could have a bath in water that was always coloured from the bath bombs and flower scented liquids.

Once I was dressed he would proclaim that we were ready to start the day.

The morning was always when he would carry me to his office that overlooked the light green grass in our backyard, with a large fireplace and several chairs.

I had a table in the large room where I 'helped' my daddy, drawing him pictures and reading from my books aloud so that he wouldn't get bored while all the big men- whom I declared huntsmen because they all wore flannel and threatened to gobble me up- came and talked to him about their problems.

But my father wasn't a businessman.

He was the Alpha male of the Arctos pack.

That meant little to me then.

I simply understood that my parents went out every full moon and that I would be babysat by Gramma Sheila who told me silly stories about witches and let me eat all the candy I wanted.

I understood that we lived in a village where I could run outside and play all day and when I grew tired any one of the villagers would take my hand and lead me home.

I knew almost all of them by name and they were always happy to see me.

The baker had a donut ready for me whenever I went past.

The butcher had a slice of salami.

The woman at the dress shop made me princess costumes and once a bright red cloak that made everyone laugh and smile.

The Doctor had lollipops and sticks for me to take home and use in art projects and the man who worked at the gun store, he was a blacksmith to me, made me animal figurines, dragons, unicorns and yes, of course, a howling wolf.

So in the afternoon when my father drove into the centre of the village and went to 'do business', I wandered wherever I wished and knew only that every day held new adventures and new pleasures for me.

I'd never had cause to think the world might not be anything other than happy, warm and safe.

Until that horrible night.

* * *

It was a full moon, the white orb hung high in the sky and shone brightly on the snow covered land.

I had finished dinner with my parents, spaghetti Bolognese- my favourite- and they had kissed me goodbye before heading out, wrapped up warmly to 'do business'.

I was wearing my favourite white princess nightgown and fluffy pink slippers that were too big for my feet but matched my fluffy pink dressing gown.

Gramma Sheila had allowed me to have a mug of hot chocolate that had been supposed to make me sleepy but had been too bitter so I had poured most of it into the tulip pot my mother was growing on the windowsill.

I was curled up in front of the fire, leaning against an armchair whilst watching a Disney Princess dance on screen.

I was quietly singing along when I heard the knock on my front door.

If I hadn't been so warm and comfortable I probably would have jumped up to answer it, thus betraying my wakeful state.

I'm alive today because I was distracted by dancing princesses and beautiful music.

Gramma Sheila had been sitting in the window bay all evening watching the world and drinking from a bottle she'd taken from my father's office, from a cabinet that I wasn't allowed to open and that she'd had to break the lock to get into.

When the knock came she nearly tripped over her feet getting to the door and hurried the person inside.

A young woman I didn't recognise stomped snow all over my mother's runner carpet and polished wooden floors, she left her frost and dirt covered jacket on the hallway stand where it stained the white linen.

"Is it done?" Gramma Sheila asked her in a whisper which made me think that she had been misbehaving. I knew she wasn't allowed to invite strangers over when she babysat me, villagers were okay but not strangers.

The woman nodded, "Almost, the unturned ones attacked when the moon reached its height and the wolves were vulnerable, but some got away and the hunters are rallying…we'll have to do it now"

Gramma Sheila responded by drawing a dagger from her dress pocket, "You'll have to do it, my hands aren't steady enough"

"Me!" The woman argued, "I have a daughter the exact same age"

"And you were the one who said we had to do this for her, for the future of our line, you committed us to this so you do it!"

I would realise a few years later what exactly they'd meant to do, but at the time all I understood was that the stranger lady was bad.

Children might not know how to cross a road unsupervised, or how to tell which plants are poisonous or edible, or not to stick knives into toasters but we have a survival instinct that harkens back to the old times of danger and monsters.

Werewolf children in particular feel this instinct keenly, so by the time the two women had stopped arguing and decided which of them would slit my throat I was long gone.

My slippers were by the back door where my boots should have been and my footprints left a clear trail from the back step all the way into the forest.

I had grown up in that forest, playing endless games of Hide and Seek or Capture the Castle with my extended family so I knew every inch of those woods and which path would lead to the village where I was sure to find safety.

I eased my way along the path, ignoring the cries of my name behind me.

I left my dressing gown hanging on a branch when I kept tripping on the hem and made my way shivering towards the village square, eager to reach the loud crackling that I associated with bonfires and marshmallows.

The trees in the forest had been growing there since before colonization, the village had been built around these woodlands so the thick coverings hid the ominous glowing in the sky until I emerged through a copse and into the inferno.

The world was on fire.

The roaring flames nearly covered the wailing of the alarms going unanswered, gun shots rang periodically along with screams that I still hear to this day.

Bodies scattered the ground where I used to skip and play Hopscotch.

Wolves, partially and fully turned, soaked in their own blood as they lay dead or dying. Humans moaning for aid or mercy.

The baker.

The butcher.

The kindly woman from the dress shop.

An explosion rocked the world from my left and drove me to my knees, I tried to climb back to my feet but my legs wouldn't support me.

My eyes were watering from the stinging smoke and fear, my head was ringing from the partial hearing loss and I was curled up on the ground when the wolf approached me.

Werewolves can instinctively recognise their pack.

Whether its scent or similarity in the features or something deeper entirely, we know when we are facing one of our wolves.

This one was a complete stranger to me.

And a threat.

It growled and lowered its head, baring its teeth and bracing itself to launch the few metres distance between us so it could tear me to pieces.

It never got the chance.

A bullet through the forehead will stop most creatures in their tracks.

"_Caroline!_"

Large hands picked me up, the man who worked in the gun shop pulled me into his arms and began running.

I couldn't see the path before us, I could only see the tattoos on his skin, his unbelted jeans, the blood smeared on his hands as they pressed my face into his chest.

He was determined to shield me from the horror, to save my life.

He was cut down by a throwing axe, it sunk into his knee and he dropped with a howl, deliberately twisting and landing on his back so that he wouldn't crush me in the fall.

A woman approached, wearing a bright red coat and lipstick. The man beside her, the one who had thrown the axe drew a gun from his holster and slid a bullet into the chamber.

Still, the man who worked in the gun shop was determined to save my life,

"Please" he begged even as he choked on his blood, "Spare her, she's just a little girl"

It was only when they blew his brains out with a bullet that destroyed the back of his head that I wet myself in fear and began to sob loudly.

This time I was picked up by my tangled hair and dragged away from the burning wreckage towards the church. The doors were wide open and people crowded about inside.

Strangers. Dangerous people. Bad people. Monsters.

I was dragged kicking and flailing along the worn wooden floors and thrown into a niche where I hit the wall and sank to the floor before I huddled into a little ball and tried to make myself small and unseen.

I wanted my parents. I needed my father and mother, the two strongest people in the world to come get me and make me safe.

I didn't care that the village was burning. I wanted my mommy and daddy.

My prayers were answered in the sickest way.

If a werewolf dies in wolf form they remain that way. If they die as a human, the same applies.

If they die mid-change, the result is horrific.

I'd always thought my parents were the handsomest people in the world.

But they'd been slaughtered halfway between wolf and human.

Their faces an abominable hybridity of canine and person. One eye yellow, one blue, snouts instead of noses, lips torn with fangs and teeth, fur and skin clashing against one another.

I know this because their heads were held up in front of the crowd for display, the blood still dripping from their severed necks.

There was cheering and catcalling, guns being fired into the centuries old wood panelled and gilded roof, the stain glass windows being smashed in celebration.

This seemed to go on for hours before the man standing in the midst of all the horror was able to shout loud enough to be overheard.

"Alright! Alright!" he screeched with a thick Southern drawl,

"Now's the question, what do we do with this one?"

He pointed the barrel of his gun across the room towards my head.

Several suggestions that still haunt my nightmares were made. None worth repeating but eventually these most heinous of criminals decided to put it to a vote.

Should I live or die.

Yea or Nay.

Hands in the air as if they were voting on something as benign as a location for a church fundraiser.

Did I mention that I was _five_ years old at the time?

Fifty people took part in this poll.

Twenty-six voted in favour of letting me live.

Twenty-four wanted to kill me now as had originally been the plan.

The man and woman who had committed the murder before my very eyes abstained.

But they were the ones who rose to power that night.

* * *

I was thrown into the back of a car and driven out of town, past my castle as it was ransacked and looted.

I fainted from dehydration and my stomach growled in hunger, the blood in my hair and the soot on my feet remained there for hours as the man and woman stopped to have lunch or put gas in the car and then kept driving.

If I needed to use the bathroom I had to go on the side of the road, my nightgown was torn and filthy and I wept for my princess canopy bed and the large white bathtub where I'd had my pick of bath bombs and scented oils to wash with.

It was early morning when I was pulled from the car and told to walk on my chill blain ridden feet into a ginormous white mansion with windows in place of walls and gold and silver clashing together.

I was led up and up marble staircases that spiralled round and round, past numerous windows until I felt dizzy and could barely put one foot in front of the other.

I was shoved through a doorway that stuck and had to be pushed forcefully to get it to open, into a small space with a cot, chair and grease-covered window and left there with the orders to stay quiet.

That was the night my fairy tale ended.

I was locked in this tiny room in the attic and told it was my bedroom. I was given a broken shower with protesting pipes and cold water, a toilet that didn't always flush and told that was my bathroom. I was allowed into the kitchen but given scraps and unwanted food and told those were my meals.

I was led down a long hallway with walls overcrowded with garish paintings and into a blindingly bright room with three chandeliers and a carpet the colour of freshly spilt blood on snow. I was told to kneel to the man and the woman who had taken me from my home and swear allegiance to them and their pack.

Desperate to survive, in a broken but clear voice I uttered the words whispered to me,

"I pledge allegiance to Jacques and Lila Labonair and the Crescent Wolf clan" 


	2. Floristry Issues

A/N- Thanks for all the reviews and faves everyone!

* * *

_Fifteen years later_

When she first woke up that morning, she lingered between the worlds of dreams and wakefulness, contentedly watched the sun shining through the cracked window beside her small bed, the light breeze drifting in through the gaps in the tiles and glass.

Her thin blanket lay over her stomach and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes slowly as she tried to recall the peculiar fantasy she'd enjoyed last night when exhaustion had overcome her.

She had imagined herself changed in wolf form, although she would not do so for at least another month. She had been running through forests she had never seen before, certainly not ones to be seen this far South in Baton Rouge where Cyprus trees hung low with Spanish moss that dipped into swamps and the moist earth was trampled everywhere.

It was strange because she could have sworn that there was a wolf running beside her, not one she recognised either by sight or memory.

They had raced to the very edge of a cliff and then leapt over, flying through the unknown with blanket of stars in the night sky above them and a gushing river below.

She had woken up before they had landed and was puzzling through the dream when she reached for her phone and saw that the battery was once again dead.

She'd plugged it in last night but forgotten to make sure the power was working in the attic before falling asleep, she groaned and sat up to see the op-shop clock that leant perilously on her window sill.

"Nine a.m." she murmured to herself before the shock coursed through her system.

Nine a.m.

_Crap!_

Caroline threw off her thin blanket and jumped from her bed, her feet barely touching the cold floor as she raced down the staircases and through the numerous hallways to the second largest bedroom in the house,

"Hayley!" she pounded on the door, "Hayley, wake up!"

She burst inside and hurried across the plush carpeting to the first window, pulling the heavy tasselled velvet curtains open to let in the sunlight.

"Come on," Caroline shouted as she pulled open the curtains of the second window,

"I overslept and the beauticians will be here any minute!"

"Humph"

A mumble of protest came from the bundle in the king size bed, the barest hint of brunette hair visible under the various doonas and blankets that would be guaranteed to cause hyperthermia in the midst of the Indian summer if not for the remote controlled air conditioning installed above the golden canopy.

"_Wake_ _up_!" Caroline climbed across the bed and pulled back the mink throw, "Hayley, you have to get up"

"Five more minutes" the sleeping teen murmured, still half-asleep, burrowing against her favoured silk pillow,

"Hayley, it's Sunday" Caroline raised her voice, her mind already elsewhere with the hundreds of things she had to do.

"That's nice" was the response before the announcement sank in, "_Holy Crap_!"

Hayley Labonair nearly knocked Caroline off the bed when she shot up into her sitting position,

"It's _Sunday_! The Ball is tonight"

"Yes and the beauticians will be here any minute" Caroline repeated, "Get in the shower, don't touch your hair, the stylist is coming later"

With those instructions, she bounded off the bed and into the walk in wardrobe where she found one of the summer dressing gowns,

"Put this on, and nothing else, the dress will be here after the stylist"

Hayley caught the silk as it was thrown across the room, she stepped into her ensuite bathroom,

"I need to eat" she called out as a reminder as she began running the water in her spa bath,

"Already on it!" Caroline shouted back from the hallway.

The kitchen was alive with activity when she slipped in under the arm of a man carrying a box of champagne,

"Stick that in the underground cellar" she told him, "Past the hearth, to the left"

She grabbed the metal preparation table in the centre of the room to stop herself from sliding into the industrial oven,

"I overslept" she explained to one of the servants who stared at her with raised eyebrows,

"The Princess will need her breakfast brought up to her and will be having lunch in her dressing room"

"It's almost ready"

Caroline sighed with relief as Eve plated up the meal, two poached eggs on white toast, smoked salmon and avocado, on a silver breakfast tray, covered it and handed it over to the same servant.

"Take this directly up to the Princess and tell her to eat every last crumb" Eve ordered, before turning back to Caroline and holding out a pan of bacon,

"Jacques is too nervous to eat"

Caroline sent a prayer of thanks heavenward and grabbed the bacon, rolling it up and shoving it into her mouth, chewing quickly before anyone could spot her and report her infraction to the higher ups.

Usually nobody cared if she ate meat or food that had been intended for the family but refused, however everyone was on edge today and you could never tell which new servant held a grudge or resented her for the Forbes name.

* * *

Since the night fifteen years ago when she had been orphaned Caroline had striven to discover what exactly it had been that marked her family and her pack for extinction.

Eventually, Eve, taking pity on the confused waif, had explained it to her.

Most werewolves were descendants of the indigenous peoples from around the world and carried the gene, the Forbes family had been cursed into the life by an angry witch in 1601.

They had fled England for the New World and gathered omega wolves around them to form a pack.

The Arctos Pack.

When the issue arose of those persons who needed to kill to trigger their change as opposed to those who changed naturally, the alpha at the time, Johnathon Forbes had turned towards the natural enemy of the werewolf and declared from that day forth that any who wished to join with him would have to bring him the head or heart of a vampire.

They had quickly become a force to be reckoned with, allying with witches and supernatural hunters, carving themselves out a large territory in Virginia and driving vampires from the region.

The higher one rises the further one can fall.

It had taken three centuries but an Arctos Alpha- William Forbes had gone too far.

He had married Elizabeth Sommers, an alpha female and the only heir of the South East Atlantic Pack. If they had outlived her father and alpha, then the two packs would have joined and the Forbes wolves would rule over running territory from Virginia all the way down to Florida.

Determined not to let such an event come to pass, an alliance had formed, one made of werewolves, vampire covens and witches, at its head was the Crescent Pack, led by the Labonairs' who had sent spies into the heart of the Arctos territory and planned the massacre that Caroline had witnessed.

And thus, Caroline Forbes had gone from werewolf royalty to orphan and a virtual prisoner in the Labonair mansion.

Fear had been her shadow and caution her language until a year to the day after her family's downfall when she had finally met the two year old Hayley Labonair.

Hayley had been born during the turbulent years when the shadow the Arctos pack had cast was looming over the South. Jacques and Lila had been bitterly disappointed, having hoped for- and needing- a son to secure their new position as Alpha and his mate of the now most powerful werewolf pack in the southern states but when Caroline had been led in to make her yearly pledge of allegiance she had spied the little pup and had been enchanted.

For her, Hayley had been a doll to play with, a baby to cherish and someone who showed her love and affection in a cold mansion where she was a burden and curse. She had found her confidence and her voice, advising the servants how best to redecorate the nursery and which toys to buy. She had sung baby Hayley to sleep and helped nurse her through chicken pox and other childhood diseases.

She had thought that perhaps the two of them would grow up to be sisters but on her tenth birthday was informed that thereafter, she was to be a maidservant and to address Jacques and Lila as King and Queen, which made Hayley the Princess.

Still, her life was not one of complete misery. Once the grief was forgotten in the midst of day-to-day living, her naturally happy demeanour made itself known and won her friends amongst the servants.

These friends snuck her food and the occasional dollar which she used to buy herself second hand clothes and little treasures which she used to dispel the gloom of her attic bedroom.

She had her first turning when she was fifteen and whilst she was not allowed to run with the Crescent Pack- she was chained up in the attic- she was often left there for a few days either side and during those days she never had to clean or serve anyone.

She attended school and whilst she was a servant at home, from eight to six, five days a week, she was a model student who had so many extra-curricular activities it was impressive she found time to sleep.

She had graduated valedictorian and planned the end of year dance with such skill and eye for decorations that Jacques had made her the manager for every event the clan held ever since.

Including this one.

The Peace Negotiations.

The main issue for supernatural creatures in the South was territory.

All of them wanted it and none of them were willing to cede an inch of land to another.

This was particularly true in Louisiana where the vampires had landed in the eighteenth century, built up New Orleans and then made it their personal kingdom.

The vampire king, Marcel Gerard, had driven the werewolves from the bayous surrounding the city all the way to Baton Rouge where they now made their home and territory.

Unfortunately these two cities might have been far enough away from each other before the modern century when one had to use horse and carriage to travel but now they were barely two hours by car and often the two species encountered one another in suburbia or highway bars and the result was always bloody and dangerous to the fragile unspoken détente that had arisen out of the Triple alliance that had formed against the Arctos Pack.

So Jacques had suggested that the two kings, he and Marcel meet to discuss a new alliance between the two of them that would lead to co-existence.

Marcel had agreed but at the last minute had informed them that he would not be arriving that another would be coming in his stead.

Niklaus Mikaelson.

The Original Hybrid.

The Alpha of Alphas and even more importantly, the alpha male of the North East Atlantic Pack.

The reason there was to be a Ball tonight.

The reason Caroline had no time to shower and had barely thrown on an old flannel over her denim shorts before Hayley was screaming her name.

* * *

"I'm here" she assured the freshly eighteen year old brunette as she stepped into the sunny yellow dressing room, "What's the issue?"

A rack of dresses took centre stage in the room, Hayley circling around it as she anxiously chewed a nail, "What the _hell_ am I supposed to wear?!"

Hayley Labonair might be a Princess but she was a tomboy at heart. She preferred jeans and boots to dresses and heels, she didn't see the point of colour schemes and fought long and hard with her mother over the length of her hair, preferring to have it short as possible so that it didn't get in the way.

Caroline took that hair now and ran her hands through it, laying it over the girl's shoulder and massaging it soothingly,

"It's okay we have a whole range of dresses here, how about the red one?"

"Red is slutty" Hayley snapped, "He'll think I'm a slut. Sluts don't get second dates, let alone what we're after"

"Well, white is definitely out of the question" she pointed out, "The servants will be wearing black, as will any woman over thirty, yellow won't suit your complexion, neither will the purple…blue or green?"

"I don't freaking _know_!" Hayley snapped, "That's why I called _you_, that's literally your _only_ use to me right now"

Normally Hayley didn't speak to Caroline in this manner.

They might be Princess and servant but in spite of their differences, they had been exceptionally close growing up.

Caroline had brushed Hayley's hair every morning before school, walked her to and from, they introduced themselves as adopted sisters to the unknowing public and Hayley was one of the few people who remembered Caroline on her birthday and at Christmas.

But today was nerve-wracking for the younger werewolf because when word had reached them at the last minute that Niklaus Mikaelson was attending, Jacques and Lila had put their heads together and decided that the best way to seal any alliance was through marriage.

They wanted to marry their daughter to the Original Hybrid.

This is why the negotiations which were initially going to take place in a bar for a day or two at the most somewhere in town had now become a week of festivities, beginning with the ball taking place after an opening dinner that night and ending with a feast and house party at the Labonair cabin on the Saturday.

All this so Hayley would have a week to meet and enchant the millennia old supernatural who had likely known thousands of queens, princesses, virgins and whores.

And if everything went to plan, Jacques would broach the idea with him during the final round of negotiations.

No wonder the poor girl was anxious.

Caroline cupped her face in her hands and stroked her thumbs over her gorgeous cheekbones, "Hayley, look at me, breathe…you are beautiful, everything is going to be super special, you're going to wear the red and knock him dead"

"He's technically already dead" Hayley sniped as Caroline pulled her hand away from her mouth and led her over to the chair in front of the large mirror and make-up table, "Sit and let the beauticians work their magic, I've already given them the colours to use for the red dress, just relax and let yourself be pampered"

A quick kiss to the crown of the brunette's head and Caroline was out the door, heading through the mansion to ensure everything was being prepared exactly to her instructions.

The whole house was being swept and dusted, she had told the cleaners to go through every room and to polish anything and everything that could handle the polish. She had researched every catering company in the state until she had found the one that would meet her expectations. She had planned the menu to satisfy the werewolf appetite and decided to use add another catering company to cover the alcohol alone.

The perfectly manicured gardens were being hung with miles and miles of fairy lights, the hedges cut into fantastical shapes, the driveway re-gravelled. The grand steps leading to the house swept and washed, the columns were going to be wrapped with pink roses until you could barely see the white paint underneath.

That is, if the damn florist ever arrived.

She had asked him to arrive at two and it was already three pm, she wanted to have the columns done and the floral arrangements in the guest rooms before she had to start supervising the caterers. So when she heard the knock she hurried across the floor eagerly,

"_Finally_" she called, as she pulled the gilded door open "I've been waiting for you _forever_"

"Apologies sweetheart," an accented voice responded in good nature,

"Had I known I would have come _much_ sooner"

She could only stare in surprise, because the man at the door was definitely _not_ the florist.

His golden hair shone in the bright day, his blue eyes piercing and his red lips prominent on his sun kissed skin. He was average height but the way he held himself made him appear taller. He was smiling easily and Caroline felt as if she couldn't breathe, as if she would do whatever necessary for him to keep smiling at her, she would gladly kill to keep those stunning eyes on her and have him stay in the immediate vicinity. She could have sworn she was swaying on her feet and dug her hand into the door to keep herself upright when all she wanted to do was lie down and try to process everything that she was feeling. Her heart was hammering in her chest and likely to burst through her skin if she didn't get closer to him.

His scent reached and nearly overwhelmed her, werewolf instincts kicking in and guessing at the reason behind such a powerful effect.

Niklaus Mikaelson.

Alpha of alphas.

No wonder she was so dazed, female werewolves were meant to aroused by alpha males, especially in the spring they were supposed to go into heat and give off a scent which encouraged the alpha male to pick a partner, mate and continue his line.

However, Caroline had grown up with the scent of an alpha male in the house- Jacques- so she had developed a resistance to this, as did most young raised around an alpha male.

But an especially powerful alpha would affect any female werewolf and this alpha…

From somewhere deep within her she found the strength to resume breathing before she asphyxiated and opened the door wider, stepping back as he paused on the threshold but then strode in, having to brush against her because apparently she hadn't left enough room and _God give her strength_.

"You aren't the person I was expecting" she explained, trying to ignore her hardening nipples and hot thighs. She released the door, hoped she could stand upright and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, wondering if she should release her blonde curls from her messy bun to try and hide the blush creeping down her cheeks and neck.

"I rarely am," he replied, looking around the entry hall, taking in the garish paintings that Caroline had been trying to convince the family to remove for years, the mishmash of Louis XIV replication furniture and eye wateringly coloured knick knacks that dotted the area.

He observed it all before heading towards the ballroom where servants were bustling in and out of, she chased after him, causing him to stop and eye her dishevelled appearance.

"We weren't expecting you for another couple of hours, not until the ball tonight" she chewed her lip anxiously, "We're still setting up"

He shrugged, "That's me, once again defying expectations…and apparently disappointing you gravely, should I apologise again? I don't like to apologise more than once a decade lest I fall into the habit but I'm told they can be quite helpful and polite in situations such as these"

"No…I" she stuttered and took a deep breath, trying to focus on something other than the wondrous sound of his voice, his heady scent or his amazing looks,

"Welcome to…"

"_Caroline!_" a harsh voice rang out through the immediate area and she immediately tensed and brought up her shoulders, lowering her head submissively,

"Forgive me Your Majesty"

She kept her eyes firmly on the ground but she didn't need to look up to know that it was Lila Labonair- the Queen- who approached her.

A woman who had been good-looking in her youth and retained only a few of those looks once she aged past thirty-five. She had dyed her hair blonde for years but stopped abruptly sometime around Caroline's tenth birthday.

She had gone back to her natural brunette but still had her roots dyed to deter any grey showing up.

She had also recently begun botox to handle the lines around her face and forehead once she had realized that the expensive creams she had shipped from Paris weren't having any effect.

So what she currently lacked in her ability to frown she had to make up with her scathing tone,

"We have guests in a few hours and you have done _nothing_, this house is hardly ready, Hayley needs preparing and you're just standing around being the most incompetent servant that I have ever seen. I have half a mind to…"

Caroline didn't see the exact moment that Niklaus Mikaelson's scent reached Lila's nostrils but she heard a loud shuddering gasp that made her wonder if the woman was struggling to breathe.

"Alpha Mikaelson, forgive me, we weren't expecting you for another few hours, Caroline must have written the wrong time on the invitation"

"She did nothing of the sort" Niklaus countered belligerently,

"I'm just of the frame of mind that the best manner in which to gain an understanding of one's potential allies is to catch them off guard"

Caroline bit her lip to try and hide her smile, her shoulders shook in humour and she gave a quick curtsy to Queen Lila,

"Your Majesty if I may…I have to check on the entertainment"

Receiving an absent wave of dismissal she padded down the hall to the ballroom, congratulating herself when she only looked back once, blushing when she was caught by the alpha.

* * *

-Arctos is Latin for night.  
-Caroline is twenty, Hayley is eighteen. I was originally planning to make them twenty-four and eighteen but for reasons that will become apparent, I needed Caroline a little younger. 


	3. The Waltz and Wagyu Beef

A/N- Good news everyone! I have an essay due tomorrow that I have barely started and in the interest of procrastination I am giving you the chapter four days early! Yay procrastination and caffeine addiction!

* * *

Very rarely was Niklaus Mikaelson impressed.

Yet as he returned to the gauche Labonair mansion that evening he admired the fairy lights that highlighted the garden and the beauty of the pink roses covering the columns at the front of the house.

He had timed his arrival to coincide with that of the other guests but his entrance was still noted.

As he stepped over the threshold for the second time, curious beyond belief that he had managed that twice without spoken invitation, those surrounding him either stepped deferentially out of his path or outright stared at him.

He made a point of not noticing them, striding down the hallway and glancing about for someone to receive him, that was the done thing at Southern parties was it not, being received into the house by the owner?

And yet, the only reception he got was a waiter approaching with a tray of varied liquors,

"Champagne sir? Wine? Bourbon, Whisky or Gin?"

He widened his eyes, "Is that it?" he asked playfully and the servant-human definitely- smiled,

"No sir, we only have the basics going round on trays and the rest you can order at the bar"

He settled for glass of champagne and moved on, eager to avoid the female werewolves that were hovering in his immediate vicinity, drawn in primarily by his scent and secondarily by his handsome features.

Usually he enjoyed watching the women get flustered but he was there to negotiate peace for his adopted son which likely wouldn't happen if the women around him were thrown into heat and the men into fits of jealous rage.

Fortunately for the future of the negotiations he had practise ignoring the wondrous scent of bitch-in-heat.

Or at least he thought he had, until his petty attempt to disarm his allies this afternoon had left him struggling to remember how to speak, wishing there was a subtle way to rip off his nose and forcing his fangs back into his gums before he started eating every warm blooded creature in sight.

Bloody _hell_ that werewolf woman.

She'd figured out quickly who he was by scent alone, most werewolves did, but he'd been left without a name until the shrew had come screeching down upon them in the most undignified of manners.

_Caroline_.

Caroline Forbes he presumed.

After all, there weren't many young werewolves carrying the name Caroline this generation, or William and Elizabeth for that matter.

After the massacre most names associated with the hierarchy of the Arctos pack had been changed by deed poll or fallen out of vogue.

Now there had been an interesting group of wolves. Vicious, territorial bastards but interesting when one considered their evolution, they'd taken a curse and used it to build an empire in their small corner of the world, probably would have been successful too if they hadn't been betrayed by the greed of their nearest and dearest.

He hadn't taken sides in the massacre, it hadn't particularly affected him or his North East Atlantic pack either way although Marcel had railed against the savagery of it all when word got out about the sparing of the Forbes child having been reliant on a vote of blood-lusting killers.

And now, fifteen years later, he'd encountered the exiled wolf and she'd surprised him as much as he had her.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected but not…_her_.

Not a sure-footed young woman full of light, bubbling with energy underneath her nervous arousal, he'd been furious when the arrival of the shrew had driven the young wolf into a frightened shell, he'd damn well recognised the posture as well, one he'd assumed often around his bloody father.

The glass protests under his grip and he hands it off to a passing waiter before glancing around again.

He's caught the attention of the crowd but they're afraid to approach him, understand wolf hierarchy and knowing none of them came close to presuming introduction.

But the only ones who do are nowhere to be seen.

He catches a flash of blonde hair in the distance and sees Caroline Forbes leading a woman carrying a midsized harp through the crowd, looking back over her shoulder and chatting quickly and expressively with her hands.

For lack of acquaintances in the room he wishes he could strike up a conversation with her, but he notices that she's in the servants' garb of black shirt and pants.

Perhaps he should have brought Marcel along after all, let him play the dignified royal while he stirred up trouble and spoke to whomever he pleased, but he had been so wary about allowing his child to walk amongst so many werewolves.

And he's just starting to get annoyed that there isn't anyone for him to speak to when he senses someone coming up behind him, he turns on his heel and sees a young man with messy brown hair, large teeth and a physique that suggests grave discomfort at being forced into a tuxedo,

"Hi" a thick southern drawl and a hefty hand held out in a friendly manner, "Jackson Parsons, son of the pack Beta"

Well, needs must.

"Pleasure" Klaus replied politely, he didn't bother introducing himself, the only warm bodies here who didn't know who he was were the human caterers.

"I think dinner should be ready any minute" Jackson supplied helpfully, "And Jacques and Lila are around here somewhere"

Perhaps seeing if there were any other basics of etiquette that they could flout, but before Klaus can damage relations by commenting on this and forgetting that neither his own pack Beta or blood brother are here to apologise on his behalf and smooth things over, Jackson's eyes go wide and he blatantly stares over his shoulder.

He follows his gaze and sees a beautiful young woman approaching, brunette hair plaited in a complicated braid on her head, subtle make-up but ruby jewellery and wearing a red floor length ball gown and smiling shyly as she approached.

Bright red.

He remembered small pale feet with toenails were almost the exact same shade.

A beautiful creature, who tentatively came closer, her hazel eyes flashing

"Hi" she offered in a soft voice, "Hayley Labonair"

Finally he got to meet at least one immediate member of the family.

He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently and causing her cheeks to blush a deep red as she swallows a scoff.

Most female werewolves aren't accustomed to Old World chivalry, even this far South, but she recovers and they hear the chiming of a bell that signifies dinner is ready.

She allows him to take her arm and they follow the crowd into the dining hall where the harpist has already begun to play. He observes the grandiose room with the exceptionally long oak table running through the centre with golden plates and goblets at every place.

A man sits in the very centre, in an ornately carved chair wearing a suit that seems to choke him at his thick neck. His face is flushed but he's smiling easily and jumps to his feet as his eyes land on Hayley. Klaus recognises the shrew next to him and determines that he's found the rest of the royal family.

Jacques, Alpha of the Crescent Clan doesn't come around the table to greet him but rather reaches over the centrepieces to shake his hand,

"Alpha Mikaelson I presume?" he thundered in a loud, jovial voice that ricocheted around the room and caused the wolves to stop in their path and watch the historic event unfold.

Klaus' teeth went through his tongue and he had to swallow back the blood filling his mouth before offering his hand to the fool.

If he had been here on behalf of the North East Atlantic pack the negotiations would have had to have ended that very _second_.

Mikael was the man who had slaughtered his biological father and driven the survivors of his pack into exile. Wolves greeted him as Alpha Klaus or the Original Hybrid, associating the name Mikaelson with his werewolf cousins not only insulted him and his father, but every last blood member of their pack.

"We welcome you to our humble abode" the shrew chimed in with false modesty, eyeing the four chandeliers that lit up the room brighter than the midday sun and the expensive cutlery as she did so.

He was supposed to be impressed.

Drawing on the image of his son for strength, Klaus made the polite response and followed Hayley around the table, on full display for those already seated, to the places left of Jacques.

Delicately illustrated name cards sit atop the gold serving plates, after pulling Hayley's chair out for her, he picks up his and holds the cream paper between his thumb and forefinger, studying the calligraphy as he notes that above his name is the insignia of his pack.

A Dark moon hanging over a flowing river.

Hidden but everlasting.

_Now_ he is impressed.

Jacques pulls himself up again as Niklaus sits down and reaches for the tumbler of whisky in front of him, when everyone else has champagne.

"I would like to open these negotiations by welcoming our honoured guest, Alpha of the North East Atlantic Pack, here in place of his ally Marcel of New Orleans…and a _lot_ easier to cook for than a vampire"

There was polite laughter from the guests, werewolves who had no love for vampires, who found the joke funny as Klaus chose to bite more carefully this time lest he have to spit out part of his tongue into the white napkin.

_This_ was the man who had overthrown the Arctos pack?!

After tonight, Elijah can _never _lecture him on propriety again.

He casts about for distraction and settles on the menus, as beautifully illustrated as the name cards with a fine selection of food.

Jacques is still talking, "Now, when I became King of Werewolves…"

Klaus was not aware that had ever been a title up for selection. The harpist was seated in the corner of the room, waiting patiently for His Royal Majesty to finish speaking. He wondered if she was being paid to ignore everything being said tonight or would she somehow be spelled or compelled on the way out? Maybe he would have to grab her, lest she go running around Baton Rouge gossiping about the insanity of over privileged white folk.

Turning the dinner menu over, he was surprised to see more calligraphy. A playlist made up of composers such as Debussy, Mahler, Dvorák, Barber, Rachmaninoff.

The selected works of these masters one might almost call romantic.

"I can only hope that a long-lasting alliance between our two packs is one of the many advantages to come out of these negotiations" Jacques finished, raising his glass as he finished his toast and Klaus drank dutifully, understanding his potential ally better.

And why he was seated next to the alpha's daughter.

Thankfully, the waiters brought out the entrees and Jacques was distracted by the man sitting across the table from him, jumping into a boisterous discussion about football. Klaus sipped the champagne and turned to Hayley as plates of blue lobster, romaine lettuce and girolle mushrooms was placed before them.

"You do look ravishing" he complimented and she smiles, "Thanks, you don't clean up too bad yourself"

The harpist began playing again and he took the opportunity to make conversation,

"Did you choose the playlist?" he asked but she only shook her head, "No, Caro…uh, one of our servants did"

He hummed and cast about for something else to discuss, the girl beside him was beautiful and he was sure that in her natural setting she was provocative or flirtatious but right at this moment she was a proverbial fish out of water.

Or wolf out of the woods.

"I've never attended a werewolf ball before" he muses as the main course- Wagyu beef served with witof and roasted citrus salad- is brought out. She shrugs and leans back in her chair, receiving a glass of red wine this time,

"As far as I knew, werewolf parties were bonfires and barbeques" she grouses,

"But my mother's been dying for the chance to throw the kind of party where we'd have to dress up. These negotiations were the perfect excuse"

"So she planned the weeklong festivities?" he inquires, eyes flickering as the poor girl unwittingly switches to white wine, she shakes her head,

"No, dad just decided he wanted the negotiations to take a week and then told Caroline to make it happen"

That explained how such tasteful food and entertainment could be present in a house where the interior designer could have been cousin to King Midas.

For lack of common interests they fell back on what they both knew.

Their packs, they discussed the benefits of the wolves running together, weighed up against the disadvantages of the Crescent pack being in such a large town and having to run in national parks.

They swapped urban legends and bizarre tales, while he pointedly ignored the hopeful side glances thrown his way by Jacques. He was enjoying himself when dessert arrived, stands of macarons, brought in by the waiters to the general delight and amusement of the party.

The biscuits had been decorated to represent phases of the moon, ranging from white to deep blue and a few with silver stars speckled across the surface.

Klaus laughed at the ingenuity, "My compliments" he told the waiter,

"These would have been Caroline's idea"

He looked across the table where Jackson leant forward, holding up a biscuit with a half moon and tiny stars, staring at them with a wonder Klaus thought was slightly overrated,

"Tell that girl you want dessert and she gives you art"

"I'm sure _she'd_ like to hear you say that Jackson" Hayley stated pointedly, turning in her seat to reclaim Klaus' attention, but the son of the pack Beta wasn't done,

"I'm sure she would, if she was allowed to leave the kitchens" he murmured under his breath, so softly that Klaus could just hear.

* * *

The ballroom was magnificently sized but it felt cavernous, especially because very few of the guests were dancing.

Werewolves weren't known for their formal dancing skills.

Typically, they'd led either nomadic lives or in professions where they could work close to nature and take a day off every month without too many questions.

This rarely gave them the chance to learn the waltz or foxtrot, many of them had the discomfort of newly purchased tuxedos, dresses and shoes.

King Jacques and Queen Lila may have wanted the chance to show off their wealth and display their power by having this grand event but a bonfire and barbeque would have been more effective.

And given Klaus the chance to see Hayley in her proper element.

As it was, she turned down his invitation to dance, stating that she didn't know how and when he danced with the shrew, he felt her scrutinising every inch and aspect of him.

He escaped to the garden the moment attention was off him. Strolling through the backyard he contemplated the alliance that Marcel hoped to achieve with the Crescent Pack, their current respective cities would become their kingdoms and no one under their rule could cross over into these territories. The vampires wouldn't hunt in Baton Rouge and the werewolves wouldn't run in New Orleans. The main issue with negotiations would be the hospitals and blood banks where the vampires sought their nutrition and the parks where the werewolves partied and camped out.

And of course the highway bars where both species went to drink and enjoy.

This deal he could easily hammer out in such a way as to suit his son…it was the other alliance Jacques wanted that perplexed him.

An alliance between him and Hayley.

One that would likely require the security of a marriage ceremony.

That would be problematic.

After all, his own personal disbelief in marriage aside, he was immortal whilst Hayley had only a century of life within her. If they were to unite their packs, what would happen after she died? She could not continue her line, he was incapable of fathering children and his pack would refuse to accept any child she did bare as one of their own, it would be a threat to his rule.

Had Jacques and Lila more than one child he would understand their reasoning, but as it was, this union of their two packs would last a decade at the most and the fracturing would be painful to all.

Nor was it fair to Hayley.

A century earlier perhaps, when the rights of women were so much less than they were now, with marriage being one of the only avenues available to them, he would have considered her acceptance of the alliance but now, she had choices that could lead her down any path she wished to go. Would it be fair to marry her to a man without love and condemn her to childlessness?

And to such a man? One who thought fools who married were the most idiotic, pledging themselves to a lifetime of dishonesty and disappointment. One who had been a werewolf for five hundred years and never once considered finding a mate?

No, he was not one for such an alliance.

The self-titled King would have to understand and settle for the negotiations both sides had agreed upon.

Reluctant to re-enter the house, he continues moving about in the shadows of the gardens until he comes back around to the front garden and catches sight of the familiar blonde moving past the large windows.

To hell with propriety.

* * *

The dining room is filled with servants, clearing the tables, following Caroline's instructions as she herself holds two glasses between her fingers by the stems.

She looks tired but satisfied, and laughs as one of the male bartenders says something to her in passing.

Klaus hovers on the threshold and his eye catches the napkin on one of the hallway stands, flipping it open he sees the macaron Jackson was holding before, still in perfect condition.

Well, if he didn't want it.

As he walks into the room, Caroline leans back against the table, dropping her head and gripping the wood behind her tightly as she closes her eyes.

The exhaustion mars her pretty features.

It annoys him.

"I am told I have you to thank for a splendid evening" he calls by way of greeting, her head shoots up and her face is blank with surprise and then wariness,

"You're welcome, I'm glad the negotiations got off to such a great start"

She's rehearsed that line. He can tell.

She would have altered it slightly but given the exact same sentiment to any who spoke to her tonight and maybe tomorrow.

He doesn't even merit a unique response.

He wonders when she was last honest with anyone but herself.

He moves closer but stops within an arm's length so their conversation isn't too strongly affected by her reaction to his scent. He holds up the macaron in the napkin,

"These were quite the accomplishment," he compliments, and is intrigued when he sees the longing flash momentarily in her eyes, not for him however.

For food.

Niklaus knows that longing well, he offers her the small confection and sees her glance about the room, looking for signs of danger, chewing her lips nervously,

"Please don't tell anyone" she entreats before snatching the dessert and nearly swallowing it whole in her eagerness not to be caught.

"You aren't allowed to eat without permission are you?"

She blushes and turns her back, clearing a few centrepieces off the table, making busy work to hide her shame, not seeing the momentary anger in his eyes at being ignored,

"I am the daughter of William and Elizabeth Forbes, the exiled remnant of the disbanded Arctos pack" he could hear the faint pride in her voice when she spoke those words.

"Fifteen years ago I was lucky to escape with my life, the Labonairs graciously agreed to let me live in their home…the very least I am expected to do is follow their rules"

She spoke with sarcasm in her voice and held her shoulders back with strong posture. She might be little more than an indentured servant but she was also a survivor.

In spite of himself, he followed her down from the room, down a small set of stairs to a dimly lit hallway with worn carpet and peeling wallpaper, a single bulb hanging over head as she pulled open a set of drawers and slid the centrepieces inside. She is aware that he is watching her but she doesn't ask any questions or seem overly troubled by his attentions.

He waits until she is standing in front of him, unwilling to move around him to leave the hallway before he holds out his hand.

"Do they have rules forbidding you from dancing?"

She hesitates, watching his hand as if it were a dangerous trap, but he knows she won't deny him. "They don't" she admits, and he tilts his head, waiting until the music they can hear trickling down from the ballroom begins its next round before he leads her into the position for a waltz.

If he had thought to impress her he was mistaken, he realised quickly that she not only knew the dance but how to be led and trust that he could manoeuver them in this small space.

With her small hand in his and her other on his shoulder, a safe distance between them as he moves them in an ever-widening circle, a mockery of propriety but one he is willing to accept.

He spun her and drew her back in, winning a smile and chuckle, "You're a graceful dancer"

She giggles, "I'm also a talented singer, baker, marksman and card shark. I'm proudest of the last one"

He chuckled, "You can fire a gun?"

She nodded eagerly as he led them to the doorway and spun them back around, "One of my extra-curricular activities in high school, gun safety and firing range every second Wednesday afternoon"

"Long live the South" he intones and she nods, feigning seriousness, "Indeed"

They laughed again, nearly losing their steps and tripping over their feet.

It is then that she hears her name being called by the shrew, her body tenses as she hides underneath her façade,

"I have to go" she apologises, giving him a quick curtsy to end the dance and leaving him standing there watching as she one again hurries away from him.

But this time she doesn't turn back and that hurts him somewhere in his long dead heart.

Although he's not entirely sure why.

* * *

Caroline was sitting at the head of her bed, back pressed against the wooden wall, exhaustion aching through her bones and muscles, her head sore where her ponytail had pulled at her roots, and her hair now a mess of tangles hanging past her shoulders.

However, in her mind she was dancing in a beautiful ballroom she had never seen before.

On the very edge of sleep she twirled in a waking dream in a beautiful blue gown, her feet flying across the floor as the Original Hybrid led her around the space, dipping and spinning her, making her laugh and holding her gently with more kindness than she had ever known.

She had never felt anything like this before.

It exhilarated her.

But it also terrified her.

So that night, as she sat in the darkness of her small room, the moonlight dappling through the holes in the roof at the end of her bed, the pipes rattling in the walls, the electricity humming promisingly as her phone slowly charged and her clock ticked loudly and never-endingly, she made the decision to run.

* * *

A/N- I hope I covered Klaus' bewilderment of the situation.


	4. Car Companionship

A/N- Here's the weekly update, as always I value the input of my reviewers and any suggestions.

* * *

_Previously..._

_She had never felt anything like this before. _

_It exhilarated her. _

_But it also terrified her. _

_So that night, as she sat in the darkness of her small room, the moonlight dappling through the holes in the roof at the end of her bed, the pipes rattling in the walls, the electricity humming promisingly as her phone slowly charged and her clock ticked loudly and never-endingly, she made the decision to run._

* * *

It didn't matter that Caroline was one of Hayley's closest friends- that she advised the girl on what to wear, that she brushed and styled her hair and kept her secrets with the utmost loyalty.

It didn't matter that Jacques praised Caroline's ability to plan a party- that her skill in putting together a menu or entertainment was without equal in his circle of acquaintances.

It didn't even matter that every year, on the anniversary of the Arctos massacre, Caroline knelt before the 'King' and 'Queen' and pledged allegiance to the Crescent clan.

She was a prisoner.

Forbidden to leave the house without permission, to speak to anyone outside of the pack and even then, she was not allowed to discuss anything beyond pleasantries and never to ask any questions about the outside world.

Forbidden any education beyond secondary school, any job beyond casual youth employment, so that she would be limited in her life choices.

Forbidden to have any money of her own beyond fifty dollars, forbidden to have a bank account, forbidden to have a private cell phone.

Her life had been spared when she was an innocent child but she knew that as she grew older, worse, as she grew into adulthood and child-bearing age, she became more and more of a threat.

If she ever got free she could be the figurehead, the rallying point for enemies of the Crescent clan so she was kept in a gilded cage where she woke up day after day without ever knowing freedom.

She was kept alive but not allowed to live.

But she hoped that this one time she would be granted the smallest of liberties.

It was mid-morning, the house was crystal clean, and Hayley was sleeping off her hangover after foolishly mixing her drinks last night.

The garden was already prepared for the late afternoon picnic that would be taking place in a few hours and where the negotiations might actually begin over spit roasted pigs and kegs.

There was really very little for Caroline to do…and she knew that could work in her favour.

* * *

She approached the second floor office where Jacques liked to smoke cigars and drink brandy, knocking on the door and waiting breathlessly for him to call 'Entre', not that he spoke French, he just liked to throw the occasional word around to sound intelligent.

She brushed down her white summer dress with pink rose print, one that made her look young and innocent, she slipped in demurely and noted with disappointment that Lila was present.

The woman hated her and would likely refuse her request simply because she could.

Still, she curtsied and settled her face into her standard pleasant mask,

"Hello Your Majesties, I hope everything is going smoothly?"

Jacques didn't deign to answer, he grunted and waved a hand but Lila uncrossed her legs and sat up, "There have been no complaints at least"

Caroline accepted the insult and drew a breath to steady her nerves, "Well, I am here because I know that we will be using the summer cabin at the end of the week and I was hoping to go there early, today even and…"

"What?!" Jacques sat up and spilled his brandy over the table, onto the once pristine white carpet which she would have to have cleaned,

"_You_ want to leave this house _unaccompanied_? Just _go_, free as a bird and think we'll trust _you_ not to run off?!"

Jacques began making a fuss. Stomping around theatrically and putting his hands on his hips, staring at her in bewilderment as he ranted about all the reasons this was preposterous.

He was trying to act regally and failing. Caroline kept her gaze on the ground,

"Can I please go to the cabin?" she asked again, "It will have to be cleaned and aired for your arrival anyway…best I get it done as soon as possible"

"What and leave everything _here_ topsy-turvy? What are you _thinking_ girl?!"

"Let her go Jacques" Lila interceded, glaring like a hawk,

"We don't want to have her cleaning around us when we arrive with the guests and the stupid little twit knows that there isn't a place in the South she can run and hide, she's a Forbes, not one supernatural would lift a hand to help her"

Those words stung but Caroline forced her fingers not to clench into fists, she kept her eyes lowered and counted backwards from twenty in her head.

She knew Jacques, knew that he could easily be bowled over by Lila, so he flustered and blustered for another five minutes, warned her not to break any rules, threatened her with beatings, assaults and to turn her out of house if she dared any impertinence, but he gave her permission to leave.

"Thank-you, your Majesty"

He huffed and pushed past her, clomping down the stairs in search of someone to complain to about the entire situation.

Leaving Caroline and Lila alone in the room. Carefully, she raised her eyes to meet the gaze of the older woman, the one who resented her youth, beauty, natural regal composure and grace.

The woman jumped up and stormed over jamming her hand into Caroline's ponytail and yanking her head back painfully,

"Don't think I didn't notice you catching the Hybrid's eye" she hissed in her face, "You're doing the smart thing little mutt, you're removing yourself from the situation and surviving. But if I think for one second that you are a threat to my daughter's impending betrothal, anything more than a one night stand for him, no in fact if you two so much as kiss. I will have you stripped naked and beaten to death. The Forbes name and the Arctos Pack will die with you"

Caroline wanted to rip this woman to shreds, but she had not got to this point in life without smothering her desires.

She dropped her eyes submissively,

"Yes your Majesty"

Let the woman threaten her, debase and demean her- as long as she ran she would be safe.

* * *

Her luggage was already packed. A worn gym bag gifted to her by Hayley when she no longer wanted it.

She didn't have many clothes and she wasn't allowed to take more than the bare minimum anyway, otherwise she would arouse suspicions and be punished.

She had planned out the bus routes to the cabin but when she'd run into Jackson who'd come over early for the picnic with his parents, he sought permission from Jacques to drive her up, it'd only take him two hours or so each way, as opposed to the five hours it would take her via public transport.

She hesitated when he came to find her with this information, she knew he expected her to be grateful and a part of her was but the rest of her was cautious.

She had received only the barest of kindness over the last fifteen years, she didn't know how to accept anything more.

He grinned and hopped up onto the front porch with a carefree grin, prying the bag from her clenched fingers.

"It's okay" he joked, throwing the bag in the back of the car and opening the front passenger door for her, "Full moon isn't for another few weeks so we both know I won't bite"

She managed a wan smile but he still had to usher her into the car and even then she kept her eye on the lock.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Jackson, it was more that she didn't know him, she'd never been allowed more than a passing acquaintance with any of the males of the Crescent clan and the Parson Senior had just missed out on becoming Alpha by a few votes.

And when Hayley had been born female, many had believed that the Labonairs had been the wrong choice, however they had yet to challenge Jacques' rule, which was beneficial for Caroline because she'd always figured she'd be the first casualty in a power struggle.

"Okay" he said as he started the engine, "Should I rev this thing all the way to Mexico or Alaska?"

Caroline managed a tight smile as she buckled her seatbelt but in her mind she was scrambling out of the car and racing back inside the house.

Humour wasn't all that effective on those who were only ever a misstep from death.

The first hour was spent in silence, Caroline focusing her eyes on the world passing outside her window as Jackson synced up his mp3 to the car stereo. He didn't try to make conversation until he saw that they were over halfway to their destination,

He grinned, "Listen, promise not to tell anyone and we'll stop at the diner up ahead. My treat"

"_Seriously_, why are you being _kind_ to me?" Caroline demanded, "Driving me up to the cabin, offering me food…what's in it for you?"

"Karma" he joked, "What goes around comes around"

Seeing her implacable expression he sighed and switched lanes as they approached the exit ramp,

"Honestly, I saw how hard you worked last night…I know how badly you're treated, I figured I had nothing to lose by showing you a bit of basic decency"

She bit her tongue and blushed with shame, he wasn't the first person she'd attacked after they'd shown her compassion, in fact she couldn't recall the last time she'd accepted kindness in good faith.

Although last night, the Original Hybrid had given her food and danced with her…

She shook away the memories, she couldn't lose her resolve now.

True to his promise, Jackson bought them both sodas and hamburgers, extra-large burgers with double toppings.

Werewolves ate more than regular humans, even when the moon was at its least visible.

Their supernatural abilities included increased energy, speed, and heightened senses which is why so many werewolves who had to kill to trigger their curse usually did so during puberty when their hormones were already going haywire and the dormant werewolf genes lowered their inhibitions or heightened their emotions until they were essentially Jekyll and Hyde.

Those who were born with strong enough werewolf blood not to have to kill still turned during their teenage years but the genes were dominant enough that the body learnt to adjust throughout childhood, so they could enjoy all the benefits of their life without the disadvantage of unpredictable emotions and the guilt of murder.

But it did mean that they got hungry and needed three square meals a day at the very least or their body would wonder why it was being starved.

Caroline had hoped that after years of being deprived food regularly that her metabolism would have slowed down and her appetite would have shrunk.

Unfortunately she'd discovered time and time again that all she'd need was one decent meal and suddenly she was back to craving large portions three times a day.

Still, being fed went a long way to making her feel more comfortable around Jackson, they spend the rest of the drive chatting idly, discussing pack gossip and whether they thought the negotiations would actually lead to anything.

He dropped her off at the secluded cabin, set in the midst of forest, with a dirt trail in place of road.

"You sure you're gonna be okay out here on your lonesome?" Jackson asked as he carried her bag to the door, she grinned and unlocked it, leaning against it as she gazed up at him,

"Alone by myself? When I'm not chained in a basement with a full moon to guarantee an eventful night? This is the closest thing to a holiday I've ever known"

He nodded, scratching the back of his neck, "Okay well…take care, I'll see you when I see you"

He jogged to his car and she chewed her lip before calling out, "Jackson! I…thank-you, for _everything_"

He waved to her, "Good karma Forbes"

She stayed in the doorway, watching the world long after the car had disappeared.

The afternoon sun was blazing down on the forest floor, the birds were singing up a racket and a mosquito met a violent end after it landed on her forearm.

She knew she should be questioning Jackson's kindness to her but she couldn't focus on anything other than the relief in her heart.

She had done it.

She had run.

* * *

She really did have to clean the cabin though.

Once every few months Jacques liked to invite his 'favourites' up to the secluded area, they'd pack enough alcohol to keep the United States Army liquored for a week, rely on take-away or restaurants for food and supposedly 'let loose' in such a way that had gossip racing through the clan and Lila so furious that she was especially vindictive towards Caroline during those long weekends.

Typically they hired a company to clean up after them but in the excitement of the preparation for the negotiations Jacques had forgot just how desperately the cabin needed to be cleaned.

Fortunately, Caroline had come expecting the worst and was somewhat surprised- and a great deal relieved- when she found that aside from a few suspicious stains scattered around the carpet and bedrooms, a few condoms here and there, endless empty liquor bottles and shattered glass, all the house needed was a good clean.

It took her the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening before she could finally sit down at the table with a sigh of satisfaction, looking about the area with the pride of a job well-done.

There was canned soup in the cupboard and as she hadn't been given anything more than bus money when she'd left, she supposed they wouldn't mind her eating the lazy person rations.

In a fit of rebelliousness she even lit herself a fire in the beautiful antique freestanding fireplace, settling down on the couch and watching the flames catch on the kindling.

She watched, staring unblinkingly as tears ran down her face and she tried to convince herself it was the heat or the blazing colours.

It wasn't.

She leaned forward, her hands on her heads and her forehead resting on her thumbs as inexplicable sadness wracked her body.

She would _never_ see him again.

She berated herself for being an idiot, even as her mind whirled with images of dancing in dimly lit halls and the sweet sugary taste of macarons.

His eyes were such a blazing blue and there was so much about him that she didn't know and yet, everything she had learnt had intrigued her.

The first man to show her friendliness outside of her small world and she fell for him, unable to think of anything else as she went about her day.

She was an idiot and idiots didn't survive.

She pulled herself up and took a steadying breath, wiping her eyes and straightening her shoulders, flicking her hair back and turning her gaze to the window for distraction. She was overwrought and nothing more, the last few days had been stressful and she was just acting silly now that she finally had time to slow down and adjust.

But still, as she pulled out her sleeping bag and stretched across the couch, one thought kept playing through her mind.

She would never see him again.

* * *

Try as he might, he could not find her scent anywhere.

He stalked through the picnic area, eyes alert and darting about everywhere for the tell-tale blonde locks, and running over every person dressed in servant or catering garb.

She wasn't anywhere to be found.

This made very little sense and he dug his hand into his pocket in frustration, crushing the candied cherries he'd bought specifically for this morning.

He figured that she might be elsewhere, handling another issue, but from what he'd gathered from Marcel's spies, Caroline Forbes had planned every event this week and was supposed to be helping set up.

Yet here he was, once again turning up early but this time without a young female werewolf to overwhelm or delight.

"Hey man" Jackson called with Southern familiarity, making his way across the healthy green lawn, a hand over his forehead to counteract the bright sun.

"How's it going?"

Not well at all.

"Fine" Klaus decides, trying to sound bored rather than frustrated. "Relieved that today calls for casual attire rather than formal"

"Yeah" Jackson laughs, "I nearly burnt my tux when I took it off last night but my mum convinced me to keep it in case I ever got married…certainly wouldn't need it for anything else"

Mothers.

Niklaus couldn't relate on this topic, so he searched about for something else to discuss,

"The picnic appears to be shaping up well" he comments idly, strolling around the edge, seeing the tartan blankets being unfurled onto the grass and the buffet tables being filled.

"Yeah," Jackson agrees "I was wondering whether this thing would still work with Caroline being sent away and all but it looks good so far"

Sent away?

She had been sent away?

"Sent away _where_?"

The words were out of his mouth before his brain could even come close to censorship, his tone was rough and demanding but thankfully Jackson didn't seem to notice. His attention having turned to the keg being set up by the wet bar.

"Oh, Lila had her sent up to the cabin, you know the place we're all headed at the end of the week? Yeah she had me drive her up…Caroline didn't look happy to be going but what can she do, you know?"

So she was gone.

_Gone_.

Sent away like an unwanted object, to be brought out again only when remembered or useful.

The shrew must have been more perceptive than he realised. Or perhaps his lack of interest in Hayley exceedingly apparent?

Either way, Caroline had been sent away and would likely be kept away from the negotiations until they were concluded and he had left.

Very well then.

* * *

Everything always seemed better on bright summer mornings.

All the grief and pain from last night was dulled when faced with a warm breeze and a day that promised quiet solitude.

Caroline had found flour in the pantry and made herself pancakes before slipping in to her old high school track shorts and a grey singlet and going for a long run through the forest.

She loved to run.

Racing through the forest, along forgotten trails, leaping over fallen logs, ducking to avoid branches, the wind in her hair and all her ghosts behind her.

Her blood pumping and her heart pounding by the time she circles round and ends up back at the cabin, sweaty and out of breath, she feels a stinging on her cheek and her fingers find blood, she must have scratched herself on a branch.

Rolling her eyes at her injury, she jogs up the path and rounds the cabin, stopping dead when she sees the silver convertible parked in the clearing.

She doesn't recognise the car and approaches it warily, resting a hand on the engine hood, it was warm under her hand whomever her visitor was they had only arrived recently.

She closed her eyes and regulated her breathing, inhaling through her nose and catching the faintest scent of a male, she spun around and saw him standing on the porch,

"_You_!" she blurted in surprised disbelief,

"_Me_" Alpha Klaus confirmed, leaning against the wooden railing,

"Flowers" he held up a bouquet of red roses, "You seemed so disappointed when I didn't bring any the last time"

"I was waiting for the florist" she reminds him, feeling foolish even as the words leave her mouth.

"You know, I really must meet this man" he pushes himself off the railing and hops onto the ground,

"Figure out what it is that makes him so much more alluring than me"

Caroline cannot believe that he's here.

Last night she was certain that she would never see him again, that the Fates or her enemies (truly, they are one and the same) would conspire to keep them apart, and yet, here he is, standing before her, as real as the sun on her skin or the pebble in her left shoe.

She feels overwhelmed and not just by his surprise appearance.

He approaches her, stopping only when he's barely two feet from her and her clothes are suddenly feeling heavy, hot and itchy, as if she's wearing too many layers and should peel them off.

She's very aware of the fact that she's flushed from her exercise, her hair loose from its ponytail with blood smeared across her cheek.

"How…?" she swallows and tries again, "_How_ did you find me?"

He smirks, "This was hardly the most ingenious hiding place in history sweetheart even if a little wolf hadn't told me where you were I probably could have found you"

"_Why_?" her mouth is dry and the word comes out as a whisper but one which he does hear and he covers the last bit of distance between them so she has to press herself against the car and is entrapped by his blue eyes searing through her façade and searching intently for her soul.

"Do you truly need to me to answer that question?" he asks with disappointment lining his voice.

She shakes her head. She knows exactly why he's here and why she ran.

She's trembling, her knees feel weak and his scent- the scent of a powerful alpha- fills her nostrils but it's not just werewolf instinct that causes her body to react. It's his handsome face and sexy accent, it's the fact that he saved a macaron for her and asked her to dance.

It's how he found that she was gone and found her the very next day.

He came for her.

She drew a hand from the hood behind her and carefully placed it on his chest, pressing through the material to feel his firm chest underneath.

"No"


	5. Aborted Trips

A/N- Why did Tyler come back from the Other Side a werewolf with his vampirism removed, Bonnie came back no longer a witch but everyone else came back human?

* * *

_Previously on Alpha Female_

_She's trembling, her knees feel weak and his scent- the scent of a powerful alpha- fills her nostrils but it's not just werewolf instinct that causes her body to react. It's his handsome face and sexy accent, it's the fact that he saved a macaron for her and asked her to dance. _

_It's how he found that she was gone and found her the very next day. _

_He came for her. _

_She drew a hand from the hood behind her and carefully placed it on his chest, pressing through the material to feel his firm chest underneath. _

"_No"_

* * *

They are inches from one another, breathing and expelling the same air, he leans forward to close the distance between them before pausing, waiting for her to make the final move.

The air is thick with tension but when she presses her lips to his, at first it's astoundingly gentle, the barest whisper of touch, eyelids fluttering closed, her hand lifting off his chest.

It is sweet and almost innocent.

Then the switch flips.

They stagger into one another, clutching and grasping as the kiss goes from chaste to tongue and teeth and Alpha Klaus' hands grab the back of her thighs and hoist her up so that her legs wrap around his waist.

She runs her nails through his hair and locks her ankles behind his back, angling his head so she can kiss him deeper. His hands are squeezing her bottom and suddenly there's a gust of wind and her back is pressed against the cabin door as he breaks the kiss to allow her time to breathe as he dives in for the right side of her neck and nips playfully at the flesh there, finding a spot below her ear that drives her insane as she rolls her hips and feels his erection at the junction of her thighs, making her warm and wet with desire.

She reaches down and finds the doorknob just below her, twisting it she gets the door open with her weight alone and accidentally unbalances Alpha Klaus, causing him to tumble inside and fall to his knees, his hand flying up at the last second to cup the back of her head and prevent it from cracking open against the stone floor.

He stares around their immediate surroundings with surprise, confusion furrowing an adorable line between his eyebrows,

"Who owns this cabin?" he asks, as Caroline angles her hips so that she can still feel his erection against her,

"Labonairs" she answers absently as she pushes her hair out of the way,

"Don't worry about it, as long as they don't know you're here they won't turn up"

She pulls him down for another kiss, their tongues clashing and darting in and out of each other's mouths, he begins to thrust against her, his jeans scratching her bare legs as her top inches up, exposing her stomach.

He looks down at her with hungry eyes, both of them panting, she gives a little nod and with a playful growl he rises back to his feet, her legs still wrapped around his waist so she goes with him, squeaking in shock and clutching his shoulders, scrunching her nose when he chuckles and kisses her quickly, licking at the blood from the scratch on her cheek, as he moves through the house, stopping when he finds a bedroom.

She doesn't realise until he walks her in and drops her onto the bare mattress, looking about and recognising the master bedroom.

An ominous grey cloud darkens her sunny day, years of instilled fear and survival instinct screaming danger and death, until somewhere within her natural confidence raises its head.

If she's going to cross this bridge, she might as well burn the damn thing down while she's at it.

She sits up and kicks off her shoes and her top, tossing it to the floor as Alpha Klaus kicks the door shut and stalks over to her,

"Your turn" she tells him, watching eagerly as his shirt winds up next to hers, revealing a wiry frame and he's every inch a predator as he climbs barefoot onto the bed and hovers over her.

His gaze burns and she reaches behind her, unclasping her bra and working it down her arms before slinging it around her wrist and throwing it to the side. He growls and wets his lips, leaning forward to kiss her, lowering her gently onto her back as she reaches down for her shorts but he captures her hand and lifts it above her ponytail,

"Mine" he whispers as he pulls back to his knees and tucks his fingers into the waistband, inching them down her legs, moaning when he sees how soaked her panties are, she wriggles impatiently and he understands, removing her lingerie along with her socks.

She is spread naked before him and his eyes trail over every inch of her as he kneels at her feet. He runs his hands down her shaved legs, enjoying the smooth skin, he lowers his head and kisses the side of her left knee and then her right, his hands massaging her thighs, spreading them open so that he can kneel between them.

He peppers his kisses up and down her legs teasingly, reaching the very top of her thighs and then propping himself up on one elbow beside her, leaning down to kiss her on the lips as he ran a finger over her slick, wet folds and slid it inside her.

She gasped and nodded, moaning as a second finger joined the first and his thumb found her clit, he strokes deeper, rubs her and her hips arch off the bed, seeking more. Her eyes squeeze shut at the sensations and she hears him click his tongue,

"Eyes open love" he commands but her eyes only flicker open momentarily before he pets her front wall and she loses herself again.

He shifts positions, removing his hand and sliding an arm under her back and lifting her up, sitting behind her with his knee up so that she was draped across his denim clad thigh and she wrapped an arm behind his neck so that she wouldn't fall. She pushes herself up and spreads her legs so he can continue his ministrations, his other hand trailing down her stomach and to her thighs, running along the juncture before delving in, she rolls her hips again and tilts her head back so he can kiss her, his tongue darting in and out of her mouth.

"There's a pet," he encourages as his free hand reaches down to her left breast, circling the hard nipple before taking it between his thumb and index finger and squeezing "Come now"

She climaxes with a shout and her walls tighten and flutter around his fingers as she slowly rides it out, turning her face to kiss his shoulder as he slides out from behind her and lowers her back down onto the mattress.

He climbs to his feet beside the bed and unbuckles his belt, with a grin she pulls herself up and reaches for the button on his jeans, he moves to take her wrist but she smacks his hand lightly and undoes his pants, tugging them down so they are barely hanging on his hips.

She glances up with a naughty smirk to find him watching her with an unreadable expression on his face, she tilts her head, the elastic band falling out of her hair and she runs a hand through it to ease the strain on the roots.

Alpha Klaus removes his pants and Caroline wets her lips at the sight of his erection, her body clenching with anticipation, she reaches for him but he catches her hands and holds them above her head as he kneels down between her thighs. She spreads them further and settles herself against the mattress as he looms over her. She feels his length at her entrance and whimpers, pressing forward just as he thrusts inside.

He fills her completely and her muscles clench trying to keep him inside of her as he pulls out only to thrust back in. He moves slowly, letting her feel every inch of him inside her as he delves as deeply as he can, she feels something rise within her but she fights it down and concentrates on his forehead pressed against hers and his breath on her cheek as her second climax builds up.

She moans in pleasure and he grins, reaching up to link their fingers together as he begins chasing his own high while she kisses his shoulder and every part of him her lips can touch.

He shudders with his own release, pumping into her, burying his face in her neck and growling as he came, he frees her hands and she brings them down to wrap her arms around his shoulders, running her fingers up and down his spine as he relaxes against her. He kisses the sensitive spot under her ear and lifts his head to meet her eyes, she gives him a soft smile,

"Hi"

"Hello"

* * *

He leaves not long afterwards, taking a quick shower after her while she gets dressed and opens the windows to let the cool breeze into the now baking cabin.

She walks him to the door and they kiss one last time before he gets in his car and drives off, hopefully back to Baton Rouge to finish the peace negotiations.

She makes herself a cup of ice tea, puts the roses he bought in a vase and sits with her legs swinging off the porch, contemplating everything in her post-sex glow.

She wondered if she had done it right.

She's never had sex with a werewolf before, it was one of those unspoken rules in the Crescent clan that she was off limits for the men and a few of the women. Jacques was worried that if she slept with one of the men and partnered herself with him, he could rise to become an alpha, after all, Jacques and Lila may have proclaimed themselves King and Queen but the Forbes had been nobility in England before the curse and headed the largest pack in Virginia for centuries afterwards.

Her bloodline held greater claim to leadership than theirs and she was a child born of two alphas, meaning that she was a true born alpha female, not one who had to partner with an alpha male to have that title bestowed upon them.

Try as she might, Lila had never managed to ascend to that role, every full moon since Jacques became alpha of the Crescent Wolf clan, the pack had watched Lila change and anticipated the sensation they would feel, the instinctive acknowledgement, in the presence of an alpha but it had never come to pass.

This in itself was a threat to Jacques regime, after all, when an alpha chose their mate that werewolf should make the transition to alpha themselves the very next moon.

Fifteen years later and Caroline still felt a cruel thrill of satisfaction when she was released from the basement after each full moon and heard the servants gossiping in the kitchen.

But she wouldn't see her sixteenth year of captivity if she didn't clean up the mattress, flip it over and hope like hell her emotions weren't written across her face when the clan descended on the cabin at the end of the week.

Try as she might, however neurotic and crazy she usually was when it came to guys, she didn't feel the least bit of guilt for having slept with the man Hayley hoped to marry.

Perhaps because it wasn't a marriage of love but convenience.

Perhaps because part of her always remembered that she was a Forbes, orphaned and abused by the two people who wanted the marriage most of all.

Perhaps because if Hayley got married and moved out of the Labonair mansion, Caroline would be rendered less than useful and more than likely the topic of her execution would be brought up by those who still held grudges against the now defunct Arctos Pack.

She banished these negative thoughts from her mind and wondered whether or not she would see Alpha Klaus again.

This time, she held out hope.

* * *

There was something wrong with him.

_Truly_ wrong.

Perhaps he had been cursed?

Hexed by a witch out for vengeance?

Or poisoned by an enemy?

Certainly something had happened because he was pulled over on the side of a highway just outside of Jackson, his hands wrapped over his stomach as he struggled to breathe, to overcome the vice squeezing his long dead heart and his inability to inhale, to get enough air into his lungs.

He was _choking_…did he need to clear his airway?

He was _sweating_…so why was he cold?

Almost unconsciously he reached for the daylight ring that hung around his neck, yanking on the chain so hard that it broke he shoved the silver and lapis lazuli onto his thumb, thinking perhaps that for the first time in five hundred years, his vampirism once again dominated over his werewolf genes.

But no, it did nothing to ease the pain.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the headrest, moaning in distress. He was no coward or weakling but right now he wanted…what exactly?

Not blood, he wasn't desiccating.

Not food, he knew well the feeling of starvation and this was not it.

Not water, he couldn't dehydrate.

It was too cold, he wanted warmth,

_Soft warmth that yielded when he touched her with his fingers._

Caroline, he wanted Caroline Forbes. He wanted to rest his head in her lap while she stroked his hair and whispered sweet nothings to comfort him.

He wanted to return to his Pack.

But he _needed_ Caroline.

By the time he fishtails into the clearing the sun is sinking and the world is growing cold, yet he feels so much better.

He doesn't bother knocking, he pushes the door open and storms into the house, hearing a gasp of surprise, he follows the sound until he reaches the kitchen where Caroline is standing with her back to the stove, a butcher's knife in her hand. She places it on the counter when she sees him,

"Seriously! You scared the hell out of me" she places a hand over her heart,

"I thought you were a psychotic serial killer come to hunt me through the forest"

She's closer to truth than fiction but that's a discussion for another day.

He leaves her to her confusion in the kitchen, striding into the living room and finding a threadbare bag heavy with her scent, he picks it up and checks.

There is barely any possessions in there but the basics seem to be present and accounted for,

"Is this everything?" he demands, holding it up for her to see.

She turns off the stove and creeps out of the kitchen, staring at the bag in confusion,

"Um…everything I brought here is in there yeah…why?"

He crosses the room, bends and grabs her thighs, hoisting her up and over his shoulder, keeping his arm low on her legs to prevent her from kicking him in the testicles, she pounds away at his back but he can withstand that pain.

He carries her out to his car and throws her bag in the trunk before gently lowering her into the passenger seat, reaching down to clip her seatbelt across her body.

"Stay" he orders, going to the house one last time to switch off the lights, eco-friendliness and all that and shut the door.

It's the very least he can do.

He climbs into the driver's seat and turns over the engine, Caroline only now just seeming to realise that he wasn't fooling around,

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I tried leaving without you this afternoon and it didn't work, I felt sick, I thought of you, I felt better. I need to return to my pack ergo, you're coming with me"

She gaped like a fish as they pulled out onto the road, the setting sun directly in front of them,

"Are you _insane_?!" she screeches as he pulls sunglasses out of his glove compartment,

"Best case scenario you've shot the peace negotiations to hell, at worst this is an act of _war_!"

He snorts and overtakes a minivan foolishly going the speed limit,

"Let's be honest shall we my love? Would you rather walk through hell with me for a year or spend another minute singing prettily in the Labonairs' gilded cage?"

She huffs, running her hands through her hair in frustration and crossing her arms over her chest,

"I'd rather burn in hell for eternity than spend another second imprisoned" she admits under her breath, her rebelliousness causing him to smirk. She settles down, propping her elbow on the windowsill and gazing out at the road ahead,

"So where is your pack?" she asks as an afterthought and Klaus grins, reaching over and squeezing her thigh, "Mystic Falls, Virginia"

She starts in disbelief and turns her head so fast she cricks her neck but when he doesn't drop a punch line she beams with pure joy,

"FYI, you probably should have led with that bit of information"

He laughs and when he lifts his hand off her thigh she links her fingers through his.

* * *

A/N- For those who were confused, she was running from Klaus because she was afraid of the trouble her attraction to him would cause her, in interest of survival she tried removing herself from the situation. She was afraid to run because she wouldn't know where she could run to for help.


	6. Middle of Nowhere Motel

A/N- What's there to say? I love all of my followers and especially my reviewers who take the time to inspire me to write and update frantically.

* * *

Klaus wasn't tired when he made the decision to pull into the motel for the night.

He could have driven for three days straight and not had issue with exhaustion or boredom, one of the benefits of hundreds of years' existence when the fastest form of travel was horse or boat with nothing to do but observe the scenery around you or make conversation with your companions.

However Caroline was curled up in the passenger seat beside him, her head resting on the windowsill, her shoes kicked off and her bare feet tucked under her, she was fast asleep and her breathing was steady but Klaus could hear the sounds of protest her muscles made, her body not enjoying being crammed into the tiny space without freedom of movement.

If she stayed that way until morning she would wake up in pain.

This thought was barely registering in his mind before he found an all-night motel off the highway and pulled in, locking his car door as he went to the office to check in.

Again not a typical action for him, in his hometown, car theft only took place in video games played by teenage boys and pathetically boring adult men and he personally considered thieves to be vampire fast food, if they insisted on trying to steal from him, he would feel no qualms about snacking on them.

But Caroline was asleep in his car, completely vulnerable and even though he couldn't sense a threat, another supernatural presence or even a human one, in  
the time it took for him to rent a room another car could drive up and easily carry her off.

This irrational fear is ridiculous of course but he is an extremely powerful Original Hybrid, a creature of legend, standing in the parking lot of a no-thrills motel with the orphaned heir of the famed but destroyed Arctos pack sound asleep in his Beamer.

The situation is surreal even for him.

So the car is locked and he goes inside to where a middle aged lady is knitting as she watches television at the desk.

She's quite friendly when she sees his handsome face and her heartbeat skyrockets when she hears his accent, he has to run his tongue along his gums to stop his fangs from coming out.

There are several rooms available but he insists on one on the ground floor, sleeping above ground wasn't something he enjoyed, she offers him a king sized bed but he settles on two queens.

He has held Caroline Forbes naked body in his arms and brought her to pleasure but if she wakes up in a strange bed with him her panic would make the situation awkward.

With the key in hand he strides back out to his car and wonders whether to wake his companion, pondering the choice in his head as he carries her duffel bag and his suitcase inside, tossing them beside the cheap beds.

Without any more distractions available he finds himself standing beside the car door trying to figure out how best to wake her when he sees the smallest hint of a smile flicker across her face and her eyelids flutter before her heartbeat speeds up and settles down again.

She is having a pleasant dream.

He slides an arm under her legs and his other across her back, lifting her as gently as possible and freezing when she shifts so that her head is resting on his shoulder.

She isn't tensing up, her body remains relaxed even as her brain must still register his scent as unfamiliar.

Peculiar little wolf.

He carries her inside and tucks her into the bed furthest away from the door. He's inarguably the stronger wolf and the alpha, if a threat is to make itself known he shall be the first one to deal with it.

Turning off the lights, stripping down to his boxers, he sits at the head of his bed, propped up against the wall and studies the young female werewolf that he arguably kidnapped mere hours ago.

What is it about her?

She is beautiful yes, there is such light in her eyes, she finds pleasure in the smallest things- a single biscuit, a stolen dance in a tiny hallway…

What was it the Beta's son had said about her? Ah yes,

_"Tell that girl you want dessert and she gives you art"_

She had lost everything and been made a slave where once she had been a princess but she had still been able to make a simple thing into a work of beauty.

An artist himself, he can appreciate that.

And she had baffled him so when they had first encountered one another.

It'd been fine for the few seconds before her heart had started pounding away beneath her breast, then he'd caught her scent and before he could stop himself, his body had pressed against hers as he crossed the threshold despite the metres of unoccupied space available, it had been a momentary weakness, giving in to the mutual arousal before getting back to business but she had chased him down the hall and then...

He couldn't even pinpoint her luscious blonde hair, dazzling aquamarine eyes or sun kissed skin as the reason for his sudden attraction, no it had been the sight of her bright red toenails on her small feet that had him fighting an erection.

From there the situation had dissolved into drawing memories of plague and syphilis victims into the forefront of his mind to kill the arousal threatening to destroy his dignity.

Her pride and inner strength certainly hadn't helped matters either.

Yet what was it that made her so addictive to him? That made him unable to drive more than one hundred miles before his body started screaming for him to return to her?

Even now when he's barely a handful of metres from her he wants to lie down beside her, to bury his face on her breast and listen to her heartbeat.

Infatuation, that's all. He's just infatuated by this beautiful werewolf, intrigued by her lack of submissiveness in the bedroom and once he has figured her out, unwrapped her layers and seen her true self, he'll grow bored and that will be the end of it.

He settled down, enjoying the peace and quiet, unwittingly relaxing to the sound of her slow breathing and calm heartbeat.

* * *

The night gives way to morning, the sun slowly breaks into their room, rising from the carpet to their beds and stirring Caroline from her sleep when it lands on her face.

During the night she grew warm and kicked the blankets down the bed, leaving her legs bare, Klaus has been staring at those gorgeous legs all morning and when she rolled over in her sleep onto her stomach, her dress rode up and exposed her thighs and the hint of her blue panties.

He has seen her naked but somehow, the robin blue cotton is driving him to distraction.

And to a morning erection.

He exhales and slides to his feet, pulling on his jeans as Caroline begins to wake up, a little whimper escaping her as she stretches and opens her eyes, rolling onto her side and finding him,

"Hi" she murmured, yawning as she propped herself up on an elbow, pushing her hair out of her face,

"Hello" he answers softly, she looks beautifully dishevelled.

"Um…" she shifted and swung her legs off the edge of the bed, shaking her head and clearly trying to get her thoughts in order,

"Listen if you want to go back to complete the negotiations…um I could…"

Klaus shook his head, he's already discovered that he can hardly stand being one hundred miles away from her, if he wants to go back to Baton Rouge that would mean taking her with him. There was no way he would be able to guarantee her safety, if the Crescent clan hadn't discovered she was missing by now they would soon and if he returned they would be looking for her.

It would be to put her at risk and the thought was a hunk of ice in his stomach.

"Marcel's spies received word that the Crescent clan had summoned a witch to desiccate me and hold me hostage against my pack and the New Orleans vampires"

She sits up at this, her eyes going wide with surprise and horror,

"Before or _after_ you came to see me?"

"Before" he admits, "The morning of the picnic"

He had realised that he was at risk but still, he hadn't been able to resist seeing her one last time and figured it would be the perfect way to insult Jacques Labonair, to reject his daughter and seduce Caroline Forbes instead.

Though at the time he hadn't realised that he would be carrying her off with him.

She takes a shaky breath at the revelation, becoming pale and looking ill as if the thought of what he so narrowly escaped sickened her.

"Let us not dwell on that which never happened" he suggested, rounding his bed and closing the distance between them to chuck her under the chin,

"Are you hungry?"

Her eyes are troubled, "Always" she admits, "Especially as you arrived _before_ I had the chance to eat dinner last night"

He flinched internally, werewolves loved three square meals a day and to snack in between, they needed more food for their higher metabolism.

"Come then" he toes open his suitcase and grabs the first t-shirt he finds, "We'll find a diner and grab you some breakfast"

She frowns and glances down at her rumpled dress,

"I'll need to shower and change first…but before I do…" she hesitates and takes a deep breath, "Can we talk?"

He slips the t-shirt over his head to hide his discomfort at those words. If she is having regrets, if she has decided that he carried her off against her will and wants to return…

"Of course sweetheart"

"Okay so um…I'm guessing yesterday, you coming to find me…us…_you know_, and taking me with you wasn't planned but it happened…and I'm not regretting it" she adds hastily, holding up her hands,

"But I'm Caroline Forbes, my name and my pack, I've spent fifteen years virtually imprisoned because the people who killed my parents were so terrified that I would come after them. I've never been allowed to have money, to have a job or an education after high school. I was never allowed to speak to anyone outside of the Crescent clan, I wasn't allowed to go anywhere outside of school or the Labonair mansion. I know I'm probably being demanding or whatever but I have nothing in this world except the worn out clothes in that bag and I just want to know what I'm facing next"

Klaus stood between her open legs and reached out to stroke her cheek with his thumb, he knew this fear, this terror of an uncertain future. He had felt it many a time one thousand years ago, Marcellus had felt it when he'd rescued him from the plantation, the North East Atlantic Pack had felt it until he'd finally returned to claim the title of Alpha and bring them back to Mystic Falls, their ancestral home.

She was afraid and he felt his chest constrict in empathy,

"You want security" he murmured soothingly, "and safety, freedom from the anticipation of starvation or attack. I understand and as Alpha I can promise you that you shall have an unchallenged place in my pack, as long as you wish you can remain in Virginia"

Her eyes flutter closed and she exhales with clear relief, "Thank-you"

Her fear is brushed away by her relief and he can see her good nature shining through again, her beauty softening him as he contemplates this peculiar little wolf in front of him.

_His_ peculiar little wolf.

His thumb strokes along her cheekbone, down her jawline to her chin and along her lower lip when she caught the digit in her mouth and playfully bit it before swirling her tongue over the skin.

Klaus growls, "Careful sweetheart, otherwise I shan't ever be convinced to let you leave this room"

Her tongue licks him again and she sucks, with smiling lips and shining eyes, her hands slipping her dress straps off her shoulders. Her mouth was hot and wet and he tugged his thumb free to kiss her passionately, his tongue delving in and exploring her.

He cups her shoulders gently with his large hands and draws her to her feet so that he can slip the dress from her body, listening to the whisper of the fabric as it slid down her legs to land in a heap by her red toenails.

She slid her hands onto his stomach and kitten scratched his skin, tickling him as she worked his t-shirt up over his head and tossed it onto his bed, she met his gaze and smiled before turning her attention to his tattoos.

Klaus loved art and though it had taken a while for him to find a method that would keep the tattoos on his skin, when he had achieved this he had designed and added the drawings as he pleased.

Caroline pitter-pattered her fingers across the feather and birds on his chest before finding the tattoo on his arm,

"Panther" she notes, her long fingers stroking it deftly, "It suits you"

"Does it?"

"Hmmm," she kisses him with a cheeky nip at his bottom lip, "Because you're not built like a werewolf, you look like a panther"

That is true. For all his prestigious, ancient werewolf blood, Klaus does not look like the average lycanthrope, he lacks the bulky muscles and large amounts of body hair, having instead a wiry frame that made him a superb woodland predator even in human form.

Still, with a playful growl he tackles her onto the bed, smacking his lips against hers and catching her between his knees, straddling her before rolling her squirming and giggling onto her stomach and giving her bum a playful slap.

She squeals delightedly and he unclips her bra, raising her arms above her head as he slips it off, he reaches down between her and the mattress and grasps her breasts in his hands, feeling their weight and stroking her nipples with his thumbs.

His penis is hard and straining against his jeans, he continues fondling her breasts, pinching the nipples now and, kneeing her thighs apart, he slowly began rubbing his erection against her panty clad juncture.

She turned her face to the side and released a breathy moan as he thrust hard against her, she wiggled impatiently and he released her right breast to reach down, slide his hand into her lingerie and cup her before fondling her clit. Her arousal soaked her panties and the scent drove him wild, he wet his lips and kissed her lower back, she ran her hands down her sides and hooked her fingers into her panties, sliding them down to her knees and giving him an excellent view of her rolling hips and juncture before he pinched both the treasures between his fingers, she orgasmed with a sharp cry and he watched with pride as her soft curls and thighs glistened.

He blinks sharply as his vision begins to sharpen, his gums itching and his blood racing, preparing to heal the bones that will break as he transforms. Taking a deep breath, he focuses on unzipping his jeans, pushing the denim and his boxers out of the way, freeing his erection and teasing himself with a taste of heaven. He presses his head to her opening and allows it to slide freely along her wet womanhood, she lifts her rump in the air to give him better access and he grips her hips, lifting her up so that she hangs in the air above the bed.

"Do you doubt that I'm a wolf my love?" he asks as he tilts his head forward and licks at her arousal with ease, her juncture now level with his mouth, he dips his tongue in between her folds and laps readily at the juices.

"Should I show you how much of a wolf I am?" he suggests,

She nods but realises that he can't see, "Yes" she gasps as he continues with his ministrations,

"Yes, my Alpha"

_Her_ Alpha.

He was _her_ alpha now.

He had known this, the moment he'd slung her over his shoulder and carried her from the house like a caveman the logical part of his brain knew that he'd been _furtum lupa, _stealing the she-wolf, an ancient custom whereby an alpha could carry off the females of another pack and if he could keep them for an entire month- easier said than done- then they would be considered his.

This had been particularly prevalent whenever an alpha had been weakened with no apparent heir, other packs would seize the chance to attack and steal females of child-bearing age, or if disease, famine or war had diminished old practise mostly abandoned at the advent of the twentieth century. But to hear her acknowledge it, willingly, that she accepts him as her alpha and that she won't try to run…

"Hands and knees" he orders as he lowers her back to the bed and she scrambles to comply, her panties prevent her from being able to spread her legs so he tears them off and fists a hand in her shining golden curls, tilting her head back, "Tell me if I'm too rough"

Her hair dances across her tanned back as she shakes her head, "Fuck me Alpha Klaus"

He guides his penis to her womanhood and drives himself as deep as possible with one thrust, she shouts at the sensation and her body welcomes him, accepts him without any kind of resistance, at ease with him from the moment they first touched.

He thrusts again and she rolls her hips, grinding against him, moving to match him as he sets a hard and demanding pace. He gives and she takes, her body receiving his desire and promising the pleasure of release. She is moaning his name and begging for him to keep going, never to cease this claiming of her for his own.

Pleasure crackles down his spine and he's struggling to keep himself from falling apart so soon.

More.

He knows even if he spends the rest of the day in the motel taking her like a wild animal it won't be enough, he wants more of her, _all_ of her.

She is overwhelming.

She is…

She is his, she _has_ to be.

"Mine" he snarls as he loses himself in her muscles clenching around his penis.

"Mine…mine…Caroline…my _mate_"

* * *

A/N- Who's excited for TO? I've written a Marcel/Hope centric story - Family only you freaks- called Hope-Filled Letter.


	7. Syrupy Sweet Threats

A/N- So I have difficulty with access to the net at the moment, hence the reason I am updating this a day early.

* * *

She collapsed on the bed as she orgasmed and he finished minutes later, resting on her back and trying to catch his breath as he slowly slipped out of her body. His head is between her shoulder blades and one hand is palming her left bum cheek, his thumb stroking her skin as his semen dripped from her silken folds.

Caroline pillows her head on her arms and turns her face to the side so she can breathe freely, sweat glistening on her skin and her hair sticking to her forehead.

Her body feels like she's just sprinted through the forest.

Her mind feels like she's tumbled off a cliff and hasn't yet hit the rushing river below.

'_Mine_' he'd called her, '_My mate'_.

And her heart had damned near stopped in shock.

Caroline Forbes was without a pack, without family, without friends or allies, when Alpha Klaus had taken her from the cabin she'd assumed the slinging over the shoulder thing had been symbolic, she knew enough about werewolf and pack law to understand that she had the opportunity to join his pack so she'd called him _her_ alpha and welcomed his sexual advances this morning assuming that it had been both desire and a continuation of the symbolic claiming, marking her as one of his.

But he'd called her his mate.

That didn't just mean she was joining his pack but she would be one of his women- Alpha's _could_ have several-and she could have a position of power in the hierarchy.

She hadn't expected that, any of this really.

She lifts her head as he pulls away from her abruptly, silently climbing off her and disappearing into the bathroom, once again he's the first in the shower and she reaches over lazily for her duffel bag, tugging it open she searches carelessly for an outfit, she's about to grab one of her op-shop t-shirts from the sixties when something slices her finger and she pulls it back with a gasp.

A thin slice on her index finger, she reaches down and finds an old piece of notebook paper she'd hidden in her bag, she carried it with her everywhere.

Every year on January 1st, just as the clock struck midnight she'd write six words down on whatever piece of paper she could scrounge.

William Forbes – Elizabeth Sommers  
Caroline Forbes

This scrap of paper and cheap ink sustained her throughout the darkest parts of the year, when she was hungry, cold, sick, beaten or just unable to contemplate the thought of another day of living, she would read and remember.

She was Caroline Forbes, heir to the Arctos Pack.

That wasn't nothing.

When she had discovered why her family had been murdered, why she had been made an orphan and why she was imprisoned in a draughty attic while Hayley got the best life had to offer, she had sworn to herself that she would honour her parents and rebuild the Arctos Pack.

She had never figured out a way to do this but she stares at the blood pooling on her finger with intense interest.

Her power is in her name, her bloodline and her determination.

In the fact that in the space of three days she's become irresistible to the most powerful alpha on the continent if not in the world.

He barges out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, and Caroline rolls into a sitting position, pulling the sheet over her lap and cover her breasts,

"Hi" she whispers, hoping for a repetition of the sweet way they greeted each other the last time. His jaw tightens and flickers to the hand she is holding palm up on the sheets, she follows his gaze and shakes her head at her own idiocy,

"Paper cut" she explains before chewing her lip and lifting it up for him, "Do you want to…?"

She trails off, not sure how to finish that sentence and his eyes are such a bright blue she's worried that they'll blind her,

"Are you offering?" he asks through gritted teeth,

She falters, unsure what to say but she shuffles over and offers her hand,

"Well…I mean you did the last time but…I'm not really sure what vampire etiquette is, Twilight doesn't really cover it"

He doesn't break eye contact but steps forward and takes her hand, bringing her finger up to his mouth and kisses it tenderly before handing it back to her.

"You should probably wait until the second date before volunteering love," he tells her,

"Vampires tend to go for major arteries or veins"

She wrinkles her nose, "Well, I don't exactly plan on tapping veins for every vampire on the street"

"I'm the exception then am I?" he teases flirtatiously, gazing up at her through lowered lids with a cheeky grin that made her consider dropping the sheet and suggesting round three,

But she was really hungry,

"Well," she stood up and allowed him a full view as she sauntered to the bathroom, "you certainly don't seem to mind sharing bodily fluids with me"

His laughter follows her into the room, and she's glad that she managed to get him into a slightly better mood, because when she steps into the shower she notices that there's a huge crack in the tile work and some blood sprinkled in the corner.

Yesterday when he was an hour gone from the cabin and her arms she had ripped the red roses he'd bought her to shreds out in the forest and broken the vase holding them whilst sweating profusely.

She can only guess that he's as bewildered by their immediate connection as she is.

* * *

Caroline blushes as she catches Klaus staring at her as she leaves the hotel room, he's leaning against the hood of the car, squinting in the mid-morning sun, she is wearing denim shorts and one of his t-shirts but his eyes are roaming over every inch of her as if she was once again naked on all fours.

"I hope you don't mind" she tugs at the hem of his shirt, "Mine are all dirty"

"It looks better on you than it does on me" he comments drily before climbing into the car,

"Come along sweetheart, I can hear your stomach rumbling in protest"

She places a hand over her stomach embarrassed but hurries to throw her duffel bag into the back of the convertible and settle down into the passenger seat.

They don't get far, maybe a few miles before she spots an IHOP sign and explains to him what an IHOP is and that no she's pretty sure IHOP only exists in America and no she has absolutely no idea why it's called IHOP instead of AHOP or USHOP.

He peppers her with questions as they pull into the parking lot of the gas station and restaurant and enters the restaurant with the wariness of one assuming that danger is lurking behind the condiment shelf.

She links her fingers with his and all but pulls him up to the hostess stand, "Just two thanks"

The hostess is about her age and not even listening to a word she says, she's checking out Alpha Klaus with so much interest Caroline wonders if she somehow missed the tell-tale scent of werewolf.

Nope. Just a regular hussy.

Having grown up with a foot in both human and werewolf society, Caroline understands that a few romps in the sack and a declaration shouted halfway during an orgasm is not the equivalent of a wedding ring or even a Facebook update but she still gives the hostess stink eye as they're ushered over to a window table.

Caroline glances at the menu with curiosity, she's never been at an IHOP before but Hayley told her once that it's the best place for hangover food. Brushing the memory from her mind she reads the menu with interest, her mouth watering at all the options available.

Alpha Klaus seems more and more bewildered with every passing second, he points out one of the listings to her, "What language is that?"

She quirks an eyebrow at him, "Um…English"

"Are you sure?"

She shrugs, "This place is as American as it gets Alpha, the closest you're going to get to another language is by ordering a Belgian waffle"

He frowns but remains silent as another waitress, this time even more obvious in her observation of him, offers them coffee which they both decline.

Caroline ponders her choice with relish before deciding to favour a full stomach over her sweet tooth, ordering a Breakfast sampler whilst Klaus surprised her by ordering Raspberry and Peach pancakes.

Who knew the famous and feared Original Hybrid had a sweet tooth?

"Why do you call me that?" he asks once the server leaves and she frowns at the sudden tangent,

"Call you what?"

"Alpha Klaus" he tilts his head, "You've never addressed me by anything but my title," he leans forward and scrutinises her in a way that makes her squirm,

"Even in the very midst of passion when you could barely string two words together you still called me Alpha"

Caroline coughed and shifted, checking to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation, the waitresses were all still ogling Klaus but otherwise they were texting on their phones, a couple of bikers in the corner were staring at her legs but way out of ear shot and not giving off werewolf vibes.

Well, he certainly doesn't seem worried about who might be listening in so she decides not to be either,

"Well, you are an alpha. _The_ Alpha if you want to get specific and I always had to address Jacques by his titles so I figured…go with what you know, what's customary"

"By that logic I should assume that you and Jacques were also bedfellows"

The waitress gives them a weird look as she approaches with their plates, Caroline is gaping as her juice is put down next to her cutlery,

"Seriously! No…ew…never! He's old and Lila would have killed him with her bare hands"

Alpha Klaus seems satisfied by her outburst and leans back, settling against the vinyl, "Very well then, for future reference, once you've bedded an alpha more than once and he's made it clear he wants to keep you around, chances are you can drop the designation, Niklaus, Nik or Klaus will suffice"

He punctuates his sentence by pushing his plate of pancakes over to her and she blinks in surprise, "Really?"

He shrugs, "I don't need food sweetheart, that's where the benefit of being half vampire comes in"

"Thanks" she spears a peach and rolls her eyes at the delicious taste, "But, not to be a drag or anything but you didn't really make it clear you wanted to keep me around, you muttered something about not wanting to be without me and yeah, we've had some great sex but I'm new to all this so maybe we could…I don't know, spell it out?"

His lips pulled down with dissatisfaction and she chewed her pancakes nervously, she notices that his muscles are tense and that his eyes are darting everywhere.

Suddenly he gets up and storms out too quickly for her to follow.

"_Klaus_!" she calls after him but he's already out the door, she spins to the window to make sure he's not jumping into his car and ditching her at the side of the road but it remains untouched.

"Miss?" she looks over her shoulder to see a young waitress with feather earrings, beaded necklaces and new age bracelets dangling on her wrists,

"Are you okay?"

Caroline sank back down and stared at her meal, wondering if she could stomach any more food now that her body had experienced that momentary panic.

Had it been wrong of her to assume that a man renowned for his strength, power and status in the supernatural world, a man who exuded confidence would have such trouble answering such a simple question?

Had he run?

Was he coming back?

* * *

The werewolf in her quickly had her reasoning that it was foolish to let this food go to waste, so she is polishing off her eggs and pouring more maple syrup on her pancakes when the bikers she noticed before amble over,

"Hey honey"

She raises an eyebrow and stares down the thick set, tattoo sleeved, somewhere between thirty and sixty years old guys, "Your boyfriend gone and left you?"

She daintily eats her slice of bacon, "Nope, he's just stepped outside to take a call"

The two men slide into the booth and she shifts over closer to the window to give herself some room whilst keeping a firm grip on her cutlery in case she suddenly needed makeshift weaponry.

"It looks like he's left you on your pretty little lonesome"

It was seriously too early in the morning for his breath to smell that bad.

Biker number one drapes a hand over the back of the booth and tries to sidle closer, "Listen honey if you need a lift…Gary and I will be happy to…_fucking bitch_"

He finishes that statement with a yelp as the hand that he tried to put on her thigh comes flying up with her fork jammed into the soft skin between the thumb and index finger, sunk deep and aimed with brilliant precision to avoid bone. He stares at his injury in disbelief before his eyes go wide with anger and his free hand comes down to grab her by her hair.

He never makes contact. He goes from sitting in the booth to standing up beside it against his will, his body taut as a firm hand paralyses his muscles from the neck down,

"Now" Klaus appears at his shoulder, shorter but far more deadlier, "I do believe that my girlfriend made it clear that she had no desire to engage in any form of activity with you, as such I suggest you leave before I decide to play a game of knucklebones with fragments of your spinal cord"

Biker number two reaches behind his back for a weapon but Caroline slams her knife down on the table, positioned at his stomach,

"I'm faster than you, I have this aimed at your stomach and who do you think the authorities are going to believe? Two sweet young kids with no priors out on a cute date or two bikers with more ink than brain cells carrying concealed in a family restaurant?"

Klaus is whispering at Biker number one and turns to Biker number two who freezes before nodding and the pair of them walk woodenly out of the restaurant.

They watch them go before Caroline reaches across the table and takes Klaus' unused cutlery, resuming her meal,

"I love syrup soaked pancakes" she offers by way of greeting, "And I love to eat, when I don't eat I tend to get these kill innocent people urges"

He slides his hand across the table and she thinks he's offering her comfort before she sees the stack of bills.

The large stack of bills.

Caroline hasn't seen that much money before in her life, "What is this?"

"Money" he says and then seeing her quirked eyebrow chooses to elaborate,

"Typically when one is kept imprisoned for most of their life they aren't allowed to have money, when we arrive in Mystic Falls I'll have you issued a card for clothes and whatnot, you won't have to pay rent if you live with me but it's a functioning human town, you should be able to find a job if the fancy takes you"

Caroline kept her eyes on the money telling herself that this was a gesture of goodwill, an attempt to ease the ambiguous question of their relationship definition.

This was not a man throwing money at a woman after two rounds of sex, it was him trying in his own way to make her feel more secure, giving her funds for the first time in her life.

Her wallet is another one of Hayley's cast-offs, an old surfer brand from when she was fourteen, with the money inside she can barely get it closed and decides that her first purchase is going to be a nice purse.

"Thank-you" she tells him warmly, catching his hand before he can draw it back and squeezing it gently, "Seriously Nik"

He looks away quickly at the use of his name but she sees him smile.

* * *

After breakfast he leaves her sitting on the hood of the car, enjoying the morning sun and wondering what Virginia will be like when they arrive by this afternoon, early evening at the latest.

She'll need to plan her introduction to his pack, she'll need to figure out the best approach.

She's a Forbes, former royalty but she's been treated like dirt for the last fifteen years, so she need to ingratiate herself with his wolves and earn their trust.

She wonders if Klaus has any she-wolves she'll need to deal with as well.

She lowers her head and watches as he comes back around the corner, wiping his fist across his mouth, she waits until he's within arm's length,

"You got a little…" she trails off but he looks down and sees the blood smeared on his collar, his nose wrinkling with distaste, "Lost control of myself love"

"Uh huh, the bikers?"

He nods, "They aren't dead but they are headed into the first police station they can find to confess to every crime they have ever committed"

"You know" she protests as they slip into the car, "I could have handled them"

He smirks, "I don't doubt that sweetheart you looked positively ready to carve them into tiny pieces when I arrived but my way, today at least, was less bloody"

She rolls her eyes, "Drive before I change my mind about who I want to leave this parking lot with"

* * *

A/N- Because fuck weak girls who need to be rescued. If Klaus hadn't turned up in time Caroline would have lured the men outside and snapped their necks before hiding their bodies in the bushes I would have written into the story.


	8. Postage Problems

A/N- Hey, look who finally made an appearance!

* * *

The Mikaelson mansion was set just outside Mystic Falls suburbia, on the edge of town where civilisation yielded to the nature of the forest.

Designed by and built for the Original siblings with the idea of a home that would always be there for them to live as a family, it nevertheless required large spaces to handle their temperaments and their social gatherings.

For all its rooms, twelve bedrooms, twenty-one bathrooms, home theatre, ballroom, card room, barroom, kitchen, dining room, parlour, living room, office, sitting room and a room that was mostly empty and seemed to exist solely for the purpose of the siblings standing there and bickering with one another, the house was dwarfed by the large garden.

One might presume that a house decorated with relics stolen from some of the most beautiful palaces around the world and objects d'art that were gifted to Niklaus by his beloved friends, the garden itself would be an absolute masterpiece.

Not so, for when Klaus reclaimed his pack, or to be more accurate, they reclaimed him, it became apparent that an Alpha's main duty was to always be available for his wolves and to have an open door policy.

This was never more true than on the Full moon when his pack set up a barbeque in his backyard, an obscene amount of kegs and preceded to party until the change came upon them and they'd run off into the forest. Hence the reason the garden was a vast land of weeds or kicked up dirt.

One of the Mikaelson's would sporadically notice the disgrace of the garden and muse aloud that they would fix it or hire some landscapers but something else would distract them.

Usually another one of their siblings, there was always drama waiting to occur at the mansion.

* * *

Even early on a Wednesday morning when theoretically they should all be sleeping peacefully.

"You are the most evil psychopath that has ever lived!"

Elijah shot up into a sitting position in a startled daze, the sheet falling to his waist as he blearily forced his eyes to remain open, "What did I do?!"

Beside him his bed mate stirred, "Go back to sleep"

He shook his head, "Someone's shouting at me"

"What?!" Elena opened her eyes as she yawned tiredly, "I don't hear…oh wait"

A resounding bang echoed through the house.

To the untrained ear it sounded as if a gun had gone off, to Elena Gilbert and Elijah Mikaelson it was the all-too-familiar sound of Kol Mikaelson flying face first into the second floor hallway wall, the ceiling shook a little at the impact, however the brunette couple lying in the antique bed on the ground floor only blinked.

Elijah ran a hand through his hair and lay back down sending numerous prayers in every direction that he would be allowed a few more blissful moments-

"_Elijah_!"

Rebekah Mikaelson stormed screaming into the bedroom, her hair a mess, another man's shirt providing minimal covering on her body, nothing hiding the murderous expression on her face,

"You would not _believe_ what Kol has done!"

"Then do not tell me" he pleads, closing his eyes and reaching over for Elena only to find that she had cocooned herself in the doona and was unavailable for the role of human shield.

With a sigh he opens them and turns to face his younger sister as she looms over him with a pillow,

"When I fell asleep last night it was in Marcel's arms" Rebekah begins, whacking him with the pillow when he failed to move quickly enough for her pleasure,

"And when I woke up this morning do you know what I saw?!"

"An indecently attired two hundred year old African-American vampire with rather alarmingly close fictive kinship to your lovely self?"

The pillow met his head with such force that it exploded and white feathers went everywhere, he made a face and pushed himself to his feet, "Apparently not"

"A bloody postage receipt!" Rebekah screeched so loudly that Elena emerged from her doona long enough to smack a hand into the nightstand in search of ear plugs before snuggling back down.

"A postage receipt?!" Elijah echoed dumbly, "For what?"

"Marcel!" she howled, "Last night Kol snapped his neck, stuck him in a box and has mailed him back to New Orleans"

Elijah's eyebrows nearly shot up to his hairline, "Well, as far as cock-blocking goes in this family you at least have to give our brother points for originality"

Rebekah flashes to his chest of drawers and his expensive cologne goes flying over his ducked head, across the room and right out the thankfully open window, landing in the flowerbed. "Alright, you aren't in the mood for humour, how about a solution?"

Her teary face turns to him, "Solution?"

Elijah takes a suit from his wardrobe and steps behind a screen to change,

"If Kol is having Marcel sent via regular mail then it is possible that he hasn't yet left Mystic Falls, after all it is…" he checked his watch and sighed,

"Seven am, he might still be at the post office"

With hope written plainly across her face Rebekah flies out of the room and Elijah can only have faith that she'll have the sensibility to dress herself before going into town.

With a sigh he resigns himself to the early morning start…alone apparently.

Elena has fallen back asleep and is snoring faintly but he supposes that it would be cruel to force her to rise this early during summer break.

As quietly as possible he slips from the room and decides to get a start on cooking breakfast for the family.

He's just got the coffee in the pot when Kol- still picking pieces of plaster out of his hair- staggers into the kitchen with a proud grin stretching across his face,

"Morning 'Lijah" he singsongs, seating himself in front of the island counter, "What's for brekkie then?"

"Your teeth if you aren't careful" Elijah chides his youngest brother, "God help you if Marcel was on the overnight delivery"

Kol laughed and swiped his coffee from him, adding so much sugar and creamer that Elijah couldn't drink it even if he wished,

"Gotta admit though, it was a fresh idea and so much more inventive than Nik's methods of protecting our dear little sis' virtue"

"Well yes I am glad that you didn't kill Marcel" he allows, "I don't particularly wish to spend my summer at war with the entire vampire population of New Orleans, also I'm not entirely sure Niklaus would have responded mercifully to the murder of his adopted son, you know how he is about his possessions"

Kol shrugged and pointed to the fridge,

"Bacon is in there" he announced simply, his method of subtle suggestion for breakfast, before continuing the conversation,

"Nik is away til the end of the week, I have another four days to come up with something else that will piss Bekah off so much that she won't even remember that I tried to mail her Marcie-poo"

"Or you could just stop pissing your sister off"

Both men looked to the doorway where Bonnie Bennett is leaning, dressed in a sports bra and skin-tight lycra, all thoughts of mayhem flew straight out of Kol's mind as he admired the miles of beautiful skin on show, topped by stunning eyes and silky hair.

"Good morning gorgeous, I forgot we had a date today"

She rolled her eyes, "We don't have anything scheduled Kol…_ever_, Elena and I are going running this morning"

Elijah hesitated as he piled the cooked bacon onto a paper towel, "I hope you didn't have your heart set on it, she's still asleep"

"Oh thank God!" Bonnie slumped over the counter with a laugh, "The only reason I agreed to go running is because she and I only avoided getting the freshman fifteen by drinking coffee by the bucket load"

Elijah winced at that piece of information and poured her a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice,

"Perhaps you should cut back then? I'd so hate to have you go into cardiac arrest"

"Unless you're thinking about me he means" Kol explained, reaching out to lay a hand on Bonnie's thigh and falling off his chair when she managed to fry his brain without ever breaking eye contact with his elder brother, "Thank-you" she said sweetly as she took the proffered juice.

Elena comes down a few minutes later still in her pyjamas, with a big yawn she wrapped her arms around Elijah and snuggled against him.

He slung an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head, ignoring Kol as he lifted himself off the floor to gag and landed back on his knees when Bonnie refried his brain.

Elijah made a mental note to help Rebekah with any revenge she had planned against their brother later today, he and Elena faced enough censure from the rest of the world without Kol giving them voice in their sanctuary.

They hadn't met under the most auspicious of circumstances.

* * *

Elijah hadn't followed his brother back to their home town with his new wolf family, instead he'd taken the first plane to France and immersed himself in the culture there before a strange call had come up the line from Rose-Marie of all people.

An accomplice to the traitor Trevor who in 1491 had, in a fit of jealousy, killed Katerina Petrova.

The second doppelganger, the one whose sacrifice had allowed Niklaus to break their mother's curse, Elijah had arranged for Mary Bennett to create a potion that would allow her to survive the blood loss, but he had made the terrible mistake of relying upon Trevor to give it to her and he had swapped it out for liquid vervein.

Niklaus had barely been able to complete the ritual and Katerina had bled to death in Elijah's arms.

For that he had condemned Trevor to an eternity of terror and Rose-Marie too when he had heard of her loyalty to the fiend.

So when she had called and asked to meet him in a one horse town three hours outside of Mystic Falls he had been intrigued.

He had followed the directions to an abandoned house in the middle of a worthless area so far removed from civilisation he was surprised they had roads and sat in a moth eaten armchair as she had told him that his beloved virginal Katerina had born a child out of wedlock before they'd met and the Petrova blood line had continued on.

He had descended a set of broken stairs and entered a ruined room to find a terrified seventeen year old girl with ever so familiar brunette hair and large eyes in jeans and a pink Henley cowering on a couch, weeping in fear and confusion.

Rose-Marie and Trevor had held her captive for less than a day but when he'd knelt in front of her, she'd grown pale with the horror of being confronted by the infamous Elijah, the dangerous monster, the merciless vampire.

"Please don't kill me" she sobbed, "I don't know anything and I won't say anything I swear"

"Hush" he brushed her hair back from her face, "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you"

Standing he held out a hand, "Come, I shall escort you home"

She had tentatively let him take her shaking hand and he had gently helped her to her feet, leading her back towards the staircase slowly so that her feet wouldn't give out beneath her.

His foot had been on the first step when Trevor had called him back,

"I didn't do it Elijah, I didn't kill her",

Rose-Marie had blanched, "Shut up Trevor"

Elijah had sighed and released the scared girl, "Wait outside for me, I shall be there momentarily"

She had glanced around at all of them before scrambling up the staircase and running out into the bright sunshine.

Slowly, deliberately, the eldest Original turned back to the traitor who saw the opportunity to plead his innocence.

"Elijah I swear I gave Katerina the potion you gave me, I would never have harmed her, I _loved_…"

Rose-Marie had shrieked when Trevor's head flew across the room and smacked into the rotting wall, his body had slumped to the ground and Elijah stepped back quickly to avoid the blood spurting from the neck.

When he stepped over the threshold, leaving the dark and dusty mansion for the bright summers day he was slightly surprised to see the frightened doppelganger hadn't run off into the forest or attempted to hide. She was sitting on the grass, her back against the tire of his car, her arms around her knees watching as he approached.

"Are you really going to take me home?" she asked doubtfully and he nodded, "Would you like to drive?"

He'd thought she would jump at the opportunity but she shook her head and pulled herself to her feet. "I live in Mystic Falls"

He smirked, "Thought you might"

"I'm Elena" she blurted as he walked around the hood of the car, "Elena Gilbert"

He grinned, "Elijah"

Their relationship progressed slowly but steadily after that.

He moved in to the Mikaelson home and tried to keep his distance, explaining to Elena the existence of the supernatural world and then stepping back and allowing her to continue living her life. He stepped in when he believed her to be in danger but otherwise was content to watch her afar.

Elena, however, had sought him out.

Shyly at first, greeting him if they ran into each other on the street and awkwardly making conversation, finding him at town events and lingering by his side even when her peers called her over, dropping by the mansion with food she'd pretended to cook herself.

When he'd apparently failed to pick up on her supposedly subtle hints, his siblings had loudly pointed out her attraction to him- once in front of Elena which had turned her face a magnificent shade of red and seen Klaus go flying over the second floor railing.

Elijah wasn't blind, deaf or demented, nor was he immune to Elena's beauty or her sweet nature, but he was a one thousand year old immortal vampire with the physical appearance of a twenty-eight year old man.

In this century, he was far too old for a seventeen year old girl, a theory supported by state law and Elena's Aunt Jenna who'd come over to the house one night to warn him the hell away from her orphaned niece.

Yet on her eighteenth birthday, a few minutes after midnight Elena had turned up on his doorstep and asked him to kiss her.

"Just once Elijah" she'd begged, her voice laced with sadness and longing, "Just _once_ so I can stop wondering what it'd be like"

His brain must have taken a temporary vacation in that moment, because he'd honestly believed that he would be able to gather her up in his arms and kiss her just once.

Although technically it had been one kiss, because from the moment his lips touched hers until they fell apart on the bed, the sheets tangled about their naked bodies as he slowly drew out of her, he couldn't recall a single second that he had stopped for breath.

He loved her and she loved him.

* * *

He brushed a kiss against her hair and pushed her towards the island, "Breakfast is ready"

She yawned and leant against the counter, "Hey Bon" she greeted her friend and Elijah winked at Bonnie when he saw her relief when Elena failed to remember their commitment.

Rebekah stomped back into the house with Marcel at her heels,

"We're back!" she trilled as they entered the kitchen, "Safe and sound, damn you to hell Kol"

Kol laughed, "I have no regrets"

Elena rolled her eyes and held up the coffee pot for Marcel who took it eagerly, "Thanks, oh by the way, we saw Cary walking over"

Elijah raised an eyebrow at his sister, "And you didn't think to give him a lift?"

Rebekah gave an insolent shrug and sat down at the breakfast table as the food was brought over and everyone settled in their seats, Bonnie and Elena lazily discussing their plans for the day with Marcel whilst Kol, Rebekah and Elijah unknowingly tensed and kept their ears pricked for the tell-tale shifting of gravel, the light hopping footsteps on the stone steps and the casual opening of the front door.

There weren't many people who had the confidence or the ability to enter the Mikaelson home without written or spoken invitation, even the casual drop-by usually required a text message or call to ensure the visitor wasn't met with bodily harm.

Cary was different however, he'd been coming in and out of this house since before he'd learnt to walk unaided and treated it as his own at Klaus' behest.

However, the rest of the Original siblings never quite knew what to do with Niklaus' Pack Beta.

They'd spent centuries upon centuries fighting and loving each other in equal measure, jealously guarding against outsiders who might distract their siblings from their devotion to one another or stealing lovers from one another.

Then Niklaus' pack had found him and suddenly he had dozens of relatives who expected him to make room in his heart and home for them. None more so than the Boyd family, the Betas of the pack.

The position had been passed down father-to-son for generations while the wolves awaited the return of their Alpha.

A position that had gone unfulfilled since the death of Klaus' father and during the centuries where Klaus had been unaware that his pack had need of him.

They'd finally tracked him down when he returned to Mystic Falls in the early eighties and once they'd explained the situation he'd stepped up and led the pack as he had been meant to do.

There were two types of wolf packs, those that worked on affinity and those that had fictive kinships.

The ones with close blood relations, that could trace their pack lines back hundreds if not thousands of years tended to operate as a large extended family with the alpha being the patriarch, or more rarely, matriarch.

So Cary had grown up considering Niklaus his uncle, if not a secondary father and had even tried to consider the Original siblings as an extension of the family.

Yet, Kol, Rebekah, Elijah and Finn could not exist in the werewolf hierarchy due to the simple fact of their vampirism.

The two supernatural species had been enemies since Mikael had slaughtered most of the North East Atlantic Pack and chased the few survivors from their lands.

And even though the pack accepted them as their alpha's family, the strange siblings that should but could not truly belong to their people, they lacked the understanding of the wolf instinct that made them instinctively recognise their own or submit to their elders or superiors.

Still, most of the time they all managed to keep it civil.

* * *

"Morning" Cary called as he strode into the hall, "Anyone up?"

"In here!" Bonnie shouted from the kitchen and reached over Elijah to poke Kol until he begrudgingly got to his feet and grabbed another plate.

Cary leant against the doorjamb with his hands in his pockets and grinned, "Hey Bonnie"

Kol scowled as Bonnie smiled flirtatiously, "Hungry, puppy?" he asked belligerently

Cary shrugged, "I could eat but unfortunately that isn't why I'm here…I…uh…received a call this morning, from 'King' Jacques of the Crescent Clan" he pulled his fingers out of his pockets to use air quotes whilst rolling his eyes.

Marcel laughed at the title, "King my ass" he muttered, "He's an alpha, that's all"

"That's still impressive" Elena argued sweetly, "Klaus is an alpha remember?"

Cary raised an eyebrow but decided not to point out the legions of difference between a true-born alpha with millennia of strength and power and an alpha who'd tricked, paid and slaughtered his way to the position.

"Right" he continued, "Anyway, thought you should know that Klaus is currently MIA"

Rebekah dropped her fork to her plate with a loud clatter, "What do you mean he's missing?! Since when? How long? Did they say anything?"

"Since early yesterday afternoon, he was seen getting into his car and driving off, they thought perhaps he was going into town but he never returned, the Crescent clan asked if he had come home to us but we haven't seen him, they're only concerned because they're still hoping to finagle a peace deal between our two packs and the vampires"

Elijah sighed and sipped at his coffee, "None of us has spoken to him, I assume if something was wrong at the very least we'd receive a text message"

"Yeah, I figured he's fine, just off somewhere being Klaus, maybe stepping out for a bite to eat"

'Stepping out for a bite to eat' was the euphemism the North East Atlantic Pack used for the Originals drinking blood.

They understood that their Hybrid was an Alpha and needed blood to survive but they preferred to ignore his vampirism.

Kol snickered, "The negotiations must be going well if Nik isn't chowing down on the envoys"

Marcel held up two crossed fingers, "Here's hoping, if I can't go back to my men in New Orleans with some sort of treaty they're gonna demand a hunting season"

Cary shrugged, "Honestly, I don't think anyone outside of Baton Rouge would mind if there was Crescent Clan culling, Jacques and Lila are really stepping on toes with their demands for recognition of power and prestige"

"Great" Marcel laughed good-naturedly, "When Klaus wants to rip me a new one for igniting a war I'm going to point to you and say 'Cary said it would be okay'"

"I don't think Nik would accept you making mistakes based on advice from someone two hundred years your junior, Marcellus" Rebekah chided lovingly, taking his chin in her hands so that she can wipe crumbs off his lips,

Elijah collected their dirty plates and carried them to the sink, Elena following on his heels to load the dishwasher, "I think we should all be pleasantly surprised that we sent Niklaus out into the big world on his own and he has yet to have caused a full-scale war"

There was a shrill ringing and Cary held up his phone triumphantly, "Whoa! Speak the devil's name three times and he shall appear"

Bonnie laughed as the Pack Beta stepped into the overgrown backyard to take the call and Kol scowled, pushing himself away from the table and striding over to the bench, standing opposite his elder brother,

"You know, I'm thinking we should give Finn and Sage a call. Have them come on down to the family ranch for a Saturday roast"

"Sunday" Elena corrects as she settles back into her favourite cuddling spot against Elijah,

"You have family roasts on Sunday"

Kol gives her a withering stare, "Fine, then why don't we invite them on down for an Original feast, we can have those any day of the week"

An Original feast.

Kol meant a massacre, a blood-thirsty massacre where the family glutted themselves feeding. They hadn't fed like that since the Franco-Prussian war.  
Nor could they in a town they wished to keep as their own.

Elijah opens his mouth to scold his brother but is distracted when Cary comes barrelling through the room cursing up a blue storm and disappears into the parlour, they hear the banging of cupboards being opened and slammed before he re-entered the kitchen swigging a bottle of vodka, Bonnie opened her mouth but he held up a finger and drank a good quart of the liquor before emerging for air,

"Okay, you know how Elijah was so happy about the fact that Klaus hadn't caused any wars?"

Rebekah blinked, "Yes" she drawled,

"Well" Cary paused to take another swig, "He spoke too soon"

* * *

A/N- Maybe it's the shitload of coffee I've had today, or maybe it's the 500ml of energy drink but my chapter break lines never seem to be in the right place.

Maybe I need a Beta of my own?

Anyhow, there's the family and some more information about the AU world.


	9. Attempted Alcohol Poisoning

A/N- Here we go again.

* * *

For the second time in her living memory, Caroline was being driven to a new world, to a new life.

Except this time she carried hope in her heart that overwhelmed her nervousness and fear.

Well almost.

They had just crossed the state line into Virginia and it was dawning on her that in a little while that not only she would be trying to ingratiate herself into a new pack but that she would also be meeting Klaus' brothers and sister.

People she knew next to nothing about, the little information she'd received about Klaus had come from Jackson on the drive up to the cabin and that had only covered the basics, his age and the fact he had helped build New Orleans.

The overachiever and the optimist in her wants to know absolutely everything he will agree to tell her in the hopes of winning over his loved ones with a great first impression.

The neurotic part of her figures that her name will condemn her before she ever has the chance.

And the logical part is in full agreement.

After all, what is she if not a Forbes?

But still, she has to try.

"So…" Caroline shifted in her seat so that her body was facing Klaus, "Tell me about your family"

He shrugged and shifted gears, "Not much to tell. In order, Elijah, Finn, myself, Kol, Rebekah, my brother Henrik was killed when we were children, his death was the action that spurred my mother to create vampires. Finn lives in New York with his trollop Sage, the rest live with me in Mystic Falls"

Caroline waited for him to elaborate, "Seriously? Klaus you and your family are a thousand years old, you can't give me a fifty word summary and expect that to be it!"

"They're hedonists" he adds unhelpfully and she scoffs, crossing her arms and staring out the window,

"Fine, but we aren't having any more sex until I know three facts each about your siblings"

Klaus growls and his eyes run up and down her long, bare legs, she preens under his gaze, stretching her limbs and thrusting out her chest under the pretence of shifting position.

His hand leaves the wheel and lands on her left thigh, stroking the warm skin as she settles by sinking further into the seat causing his little finger to slip under the barrier of her denim shorts.

Restricted in his movements underneath, he went over, reaching for the button and popping it open so he can reach in and palm her through her lingerie.

Caroline hums with delight and arches her back, licking her lips playfully before smacking his wrist and removing his hand, redressing herself with a dignified air.

His surprise is obvious and she knows that she took a risk in refusing him.

Werewolves lived in a world of dominance and submission.

Typically an autocratic society with the Alpha, Beta and the rest of the hierarchy being men with the occasional rare woman making it through the ranks via the virtue of her birth or exceptional merit.

Female werewolves were considered wives and mothers by some, little more as trophies by others. Their instincts drove them to seek out the strongest partners they could find, so any male werewolf who could win one over treated them as a status symbol.

A female alpha had to fight every challenge to her pack, from the outside in with even the most loyal of wolves willing to mount their alpha's and relegate them to childbearing in the mistaken belief that they were 'protecting' them.

And in the case of a female werewolf taken by an Alpha, particularly one without pack or family, they were supposed to be subservient, they certainly didn't refuse him their body.

But Caroline wasn't any female werewolf, the heir to two alphas and one of the most powerful packs in the Americas, she isn't going to risk everything to be someone's bed mate.

Besides even when Klaus scoffs at her refusal there's a tenderness in his gaze and a hint of humour in his smile that belies any danger or insult. 

"My brother Elijah lives in suits" he relents, "The world became too gauche for him after the roaring twenties and he insists on being the embodiment of the times lost to us. Finn is an absolute bore, I'm almost certain the last time he smiled was when the Ottomans still had an empire, the only person who can stand him for long periods of time is his wife Sage whom was a wench when we first knew her and the first vampire ever sired by an Original. My sister Rebekah falls in love more often than the sun rises, she loves insanely and with more passion than anyone else could ever hope to experience. She and Marcellus have been together for nearly a century now, every day they grow happier. My brother Kol is a rascal, irritating beyond belief and never happy unless he is throwing everything into chaos. I have never known him to ever fall for a woman stupid enough to catch him, he always insists on women who are far above him in intelligence…happy sweetheart?"

She purses her lips and pretends to think, "What are all their favourite foods?"

"Haven't a clue" he admits, "But I will ask them tonight"

She smiles and settles back, watching the forest whizz past before something clicks in her mind and she grabs his arm,

"Wait…stop!"

He hits the brakes and pulls over onto the gravel, the car giving a jolt as they became stationary.

"What is it?!" he asks concerned as she scrambles to get out, twisting in his seat to follow her movements,

"Caroline, if you're trying to make a run for it we crossed into my territory about three hours ago, you should have run then!"

She rolls her eyes, "Shut up! I'm not running, I just…"

She walked around the car and into the forest, just passed its edge, "I remember this place"

She held out her arms and breathed deeply, letting the scent of wood, dirt, grass and damp filter through her nostrils. The breeze tickled her skin and the sun filtered through the trees, dappling on her skin.

Klaus hovered nearby and she opened her eyes, turning to him with a smile,

"I've been here once before, this town, my mother drove through here…probably _without_ your permission now that I think about it"

He shrugged, "Territories are much more jealously guarded now than what they once were. If I'd come across her passing through I wouldn't have cared. If the entire Arctos pack had followed I would have invited them over for a drink and a chat. Not like now where a travelling wolf has to fly or risk death"

She nods, pretending that she understands when in reality the concept flies right over her head.

Wolves crossing through the territories of other packs?

She's never heard of such a thing. She's grown up in an environment where pack wolves could only stick to their state, to go outside it was suicide or treason.

She was always present at the execution of wolves that had broken this rule, to remind her of what would happen to her if she ever tried to run.

As if she had _ever_ needed reminding.

"My mother had sisters in Mystic Falls" she explains, padding over and taking his hand, "I guess, when I used to imagine running away, back when I still thought that was an option, I thought if I got here, I'd…feel safe, like I had a home again"

He strokes his thumb across her skin, "It's been a long time since you've had a home hasn't it sweetheart?"

Caroline closes her eyes again, "Fifteen years, four months, twelve days" she intones as a tear falls from her eye and traces a path down her cheek,

"I've forgotten what it feels like"

He grimaces and brings her in for a rough hug, "You're safe here I'm the most powerful creature on the continent Caroline. Nothing can take you from me"

She buries her face in his shoulder, "I know" she assures him, blinking rapidly to stop her tears.

After all, she wasn't the only one who was playing fast and loose with their health.

Klaus was risking a great deal by freeing her from captivity and bringing the Forbes Princess and Arctos heir into his territory, the enemies of her bloodline would see it as cause for war and his allies might desert him.

They were in this game of Russian roulette together.

"I know," she kisses his neck, "I know, I just…I'm happy to be here is all"

He smiles and captures her mouth, sliding his tongue in and teasing her. She readjusts so that she's more comfortable and hums with desire when his hand slips down her shorts and caresses her bum.

But a rustling of leaves interrupts their interlude. They spring apart and Caroline has to fight to control herself before Klaus shoves her behind him, against a tree, to safety as he glares at the intruders.

A man and a woman are standing a few feet away, looking like campers with backpacks on their sunburnt shoulders, short hair and comfortable clothes.

"Daniel" he growls, "Kimberley"

Caroline can immediately sense that Klaus isn't the least bit alarmed by the surprise, more irritated, but of course he is an Alpha on his own land. If he didn't feel secure here he would be a nervous, paranoid wreck.

"Alpha"

Both werewolves nod respectfully before Daniel jerks his thumb over his shoulder, "Been scouting out somewhere for the kids to hang out" he explains with an easy going grin, "The lot of them are too young to want to hang with the adults but too old to allow themselves to be babysat, I figure if we find them somewhere far enough away from us to run around but close enough that we can come quickly if something goes wrong…"

"Which it won't" Kimberley interjected while trying to subtlety study Caroline from her blonde hair to her red toenails.

"Right" Daniel amends good-naturedly, "But just in case, we can get there before blood starts running"

Klaus accepts this placidly, "Cary asked you to do this?"

"Nope" Daniel pulls himself up proudly, "We thought of it ourselves"

Caroline blinks in surprise, she had been listening avidly to everything that was said and not said in the conversation, trying to get a feel for the way Klaus ran his pack.

With the Crescent wolves, nobody was allowed to make a decision regarding the pack except for Jacques and Lila, or maybe Mr Parsons if the 'King' and 'Queen' didn't know what to do- which they frequently didn't, being so far removed from understanding the day-to-day lives of their pack wolves up in their mansion.

Klaus however seems willing to let this infraction slide, "Don't let me keep you" he says dismissing them politely but neither appear to get the message, instead they both look to Caroline who feels momentary panic when she realises that they want an introduction.

Because of course they do. Their Alpha comes home with a female on his arm, everyone in the pack will want to know who she is.

But she's not ready to reveal herself to the onslaught yet so she holds out her hand and keeps her voice as steady as possible,

"Hi, my name is Carrie" she lies smoothly, "Nice to meet you"

The three of them shake hands and then fall into silence as each of them waits, silently daring the other to break first and either ask a question or blurt an answer.

Klaus isn't one for waiting,

"Goodbye now" he tells his wolves pointedly and they relent, striding back off into the forest.

He waits a few moments after they've left before sighing, he spins on his heel to face her,

"I suppose with my wolves wandering around the forest I don't have a chance of convincing you to pick up where we left off?"

She shakes her head, "Nope. Not a hope in hell Klaus"

He huffs and they head back to the car, speeding off down the road towards the Mikaelson manor.

* * *

Once the roar of the engine was out of ear shot, Kimberly emerged from her hiding place and went straight back to the tree Klaus had pushed the female wolf against.

A lone strand of blonde hair was stuck in the bark and she brought it to her nose, sniffing deeply and trying to place the scent.

When she was sure, she sought out Daniel who was waiting patiently where she had asked him to,

"Found what you were looking for?" he asked and she nodded,

"Yeah, I was right as well. It's definitely her"

* * *

However Elena and Bonnie had imagined spending the day, they had in fact ended up trying to restrain Cary in his attempts to drink the Mikaelson liquor cabinet dry.

"One week!" he bursts out, "One _freaking_ week. He's a thousand years old and he couldn't behave himself for one _week_?!"

"Maybe it won't be so bad?" Elena suggested tentatively as the young Beta dropped onto the couch and leaned on his elbows, running his hands through his hair stressfully,

"Klaus Mikaelson rings to say that he's bringing Caroline Forbes, _the_ Caroline Forbes into the heart of his territory as a new member of the pack," he aims for a bottle of absinthe but Bonnie uses her magic to push it out of his reach,

"Fuck me"

"Okay" Bonnie snaps, sitting down on the coffee table so she is face to face with the wrecked werewolf, "Who exactly is Caroline Forbes?"

Cary manages to forget his own issues long enough to seem surprised at her lack of knowledge,

"You mean you don't know? Jesus, I'd have thought the Forbes would at least rate a mention at the Hogwarts Mystic Falls campus"

She rolls her eyes and Elena perches on one of the many leather armchairs in the large living room,

"_Elijah_!" she shouted, knowing that wherever he was in the house he would hear her,

"Who is Caroline Forbes?"

"She's the daughter of William and Elizabeth Forbes" Marcel calls, gaining their attention as he saunters into the room, "More importantly, had the massacre not happened, she would have been heir to the Arctos and South East Atlantic pack, likely combining the two and inheriting the largest territory ever held by a werewolf in America"

"Fortunately" Cary added, "Or unfortunately, depending whose side you were on. Other wolf packs didn't approve of the Arctos expansionist policy and formed an alliance with vampires and a small group of witches. The Triple Alliance, on a full moon they used magic, deception and straight up violence to slaughter the pack, last I heard only about fifteen survived out of the hundreds and disappeared into the night, becoming omegas"

"At the time, the issue arose about what to do with Caroline, the heir to the pack and the Forbes name- which is a damn powerful name to have in our world. A lot of people voted to kill her and end the threat once and for all"

"Then why didn't they?" Bonnie asked curiously, sensing Kol come into the room and knowing that he would always give her a straight answer whether she wanted one or not,

"Her youth" the youngest Mikaelson male answered to her back, "This massacre took place around fourteen years ago…"

"Fifteen" Marcel corrected, earning him a scowl,

"Right, fifteen- point is…Caroline would only be around twenty or so now, twenty four at the most. I don't know her exact age but she was a little girl when this took place"

"Oh" Elena gasped, her heart welling in sympathy for the unknown orphan, certainly she could emphasize, having lost her own parents in a horrific car accident.

"Yeah" Cary pointed at the brunette, "Reactions like that are the reason she's in a car right now headed over here"

"I don't see the point of the bloody hoo ha!" Rebekah snaps as she storms into the room, apparently annoyed that the impromptu meeting had been called without her,

"She's just a werewolf, we're swimming in those"

"Not like her we aren't" Kol flops down onto the couch right next to Cary so that he too has proximity to Bonnie, "I don't know much about the Forbes doggy ways but I know that they were spelled into becoming werewolves, according to rumour, that made them stronger than the average hound"

"And the Arctos pack wasn't just wolves" he continued, "But vampire hunters as well, and any hunter that's even come close to being a nuisance to me was trained by a Forbes- they were vicious bastards"

His little sister is completely unperturbed by this, "That still makes her a mortal werewolf in a house of immortal vampires…I still think you're all bloody overreacting"

She stomps out of the house as Elijah finally enters the room and turns to Marcel,

"You haven't forgot an anniversary again have you?"

* * *

Men were all so stupid.

Rebekah contemplates this knowledge as she marches into the paved driveway just as an all too familiar silver convertible parks a short distance from her.

Her brother emerges and spots her immediately,

"Hello Bekah!"

She gives him the barest of smiles before focusing her hawk-eyed gaze on the girl who hops out of the car and stands in front of it, Rebekah can see her flex her fingers but keep them at her side to try and hide her nervousness.

She was about average height, blonde, tanned, dressed poorly, conventionally pretty but Rebekah failed to see what all the fuss was about.

Until the young wolf held out a hand and Nik practically flashed to her side to link his fingers with hers,

"Come along" he whispers tenderly, leading her forward with the utmost gentleness.

He reached Rebekah and her jaw dropped in disbelief when she saw the…contentment in his eyes, the relaxed set of his shoulders, the unabashed affection he was displaying to the girl,

"Caroline" he murmurs her name like a prayer,

"This is my sister Rebekah, Bekah- this is Caroline Forbes"

He was smiling, not just smiling…but in a way she hadn't seen since they were human.

Caroline wasn't smiling however, not properly anyway, her lips were upturned and there was energy there but it was ruined by the cunning spark in her eyes.

Bloody hell.

Perhaps the men weren't so stupid after all.

* * *

A/N- Finally getting to the introductions but this is a slow moving story.


	10. Raw Steak Surprises

A/N- Wow, thanks for all the lovely reviews. Here's the beginning of the family introductions.

* * *

_Previously_

_He reached Rebekah and her jaw dropped in disbelief when she saw the…contentment in his eyes, the relaxed set of his shoulders, the unabashed affection he was displaying to the girl, _

"_Caroline" he murmurs her name like a prayer, _

"_This is my sister Rebekah, Bekah- this is Caroline Forbes" _

_He was smiling, not just smiling…but in a way she hadn't seen since they were human. _

_Caroline wasn't smiling however, not properly anyway, her lips were upturned and there was energy there but it was ruined by the cunning spark in her eyes. _

_Bloody hell. _

_Perhaps the men weren't so stupid after all._

* * *

Caroline took a deep breath and fixed a smile on her face as she stood before Klaus' sister, the girl is watching her completely motionless and somehow making her feel like she was being studied for weaknesses.

"It's so great to meet you" she gushed as she held out her hand, keeping it there when she sees the challenge in the blonde vampiress' eyes, she levels her stare, daring Rebekah to turn her back on her.

She is offered a limp hand to shake once before she turns to her brother,

"Everyone's inside" she announces brusquely before continuing her march down the driveway.

She gives him a tight smile, "She seems nice"

He chuckles, "Ignore her love, she sometimes gets into these moods where she storms off and sulks"

He squeezes her hand and kisses it quickly, "Elijah will give you the proper polite welcome, but keep an eye out for Kol, he'll be more likely to try and grope you"

She gives a playful growl, "Am I allowed to smack him if he does?"

"You are allowed to do everything short of kill him"

Caroline squared her shoulders and followed Nik inside, keeping her hand linked in his so she could resist the urge to fidget. She focused on her breathing and maintaining as calm a visage as possible, knowing that any werewolf inside would smell fear and consider it weakness.

She was Caroline Forbes.

She was an Arctos werewolf.

Nik leads her through the open door into a grand foyer, marble and tiles as far as the eye could see, pristine white floor but splashes of colour with paintings and various objects decorating the room tastefully,

"See this" she whispers to him, "_This_ is what a mansion is supposed to look like"

He smirks and tugs her past the winding double staircase, "Oh I don't know love there was something to be said for the Labonair's designs"

She rolls her eyes, "There are many things to be said but I'm not going to use that kind of language when your family is in hearing range"

"How very kind of you" a voice calls out and they stop in their tracks as a man in a charcoal three piece suit steps into their path.

Running through the descriptions he had given her this morning, Caroline assumes that the man is in fact Elijah, Nik's eldest brother.

However he is a vampire and she doesn't know whether or not he counts as a member of the pack, she has absolutely no idea how to address him. She falls back on her friendly, polite smile, the one she used every time someone heard her name and made the connection,

_'Oh, Caroline Forbes, Arctos heir- best not get too close then'_

"Hi" she said, gripping Nik's hand for dear life, about to give her name when Nik breaks in,

"Big brother" he somehow works his hand free from hers without losing any fingers or skin and closes the few feet of distance between himself and Elijah to pull him into a hug.

She can see the momentary shock on his face before Nik's brother returns the embrace, closing his eyes for a brief second before focusing them on her.

"You must be Caroline Forbes" he surmises as he is released and she can hear at least one person breathing in the next room, two... wait…three people breathing although one of them appeared to be drinking almost continuously.

Elijah approaches her with an implacable expression on his face but she doesn't take a step back or let her nerves show in any way, but her senses betray her, her nose wrinkling as he stops a bare foot from her.

She had never encountered a vampire before, she noticed immediately that there was a sickly sweet smell to them, not decay exactly nor the scent of the blood they had to consume to keep themselves mobile. She can't place it although her nose had been tickled with the same, albeit diluted scent for days now with Klaus, however when he was with her, his werewolf musk was overpowering enough that her brain gave up trying to figure out the rest of the bouquet.

Elijah was staring at her, scrutinising her and she wondered how she appeared in his eyes, suddenly wishing that she wasn't wearing denim shorts and Nik's t-shirt.

She'd practised what to say on the ride over, how to present herself. She straightens her shoulders now as several more people join them in the hallway, two of them behind her, one of them a vampire and her nail beds start to tickle. She drops her shoulders and focuses on her mantra.

'Et deinceps usque ad novos'

The Arctos motto, 'Onward to New Paths'

Once more in control she blinks at Elijah and holds out her hand, "I am" she replies to his earlier assumption, "And you must be Elijah, nice to meet you"

He takes her hand cautiously, as if she's rubbed poison onto her palm, but when he isn't struck dead instantly he shakes it politely, although still scrutinising every inch of her.

Caroline hears heavy breathing behind her and turns her head over her shoulder to see a very drunk werewolf leaning against the wall and glaring at her.

"Cary?" Nik, brushes her waist as he steps around her, "Rough night mate?"

He doesn't stop glaring at her even as he drunkenly slurs a reply and Caroline figures that she's likely the reason behind the attempted alcohol poisoning.

She glances around quickly and sees two girls the same age as her lingering by the stairs.

"Hi" she breezes over to them as the second vampire- probably Marcel- starts whispering in Nik's ear,

"Caroline Forbes"

An olive-skinned brunette shakes her hand weakly but otherwise shows no sign of animosity, just giving off an air of general confusion,

"Elena Gilbert" she introduces herself, "And this" she waves to her dark-skinned friend beside her, "Is Bonnie Bennett"

Caroline's smile falters.

Bennett.

_Dammit_.

She hadn't seen hide nor hair of a Bennett witch since the night Sheila and Abigail had tried to kill her, in fact she'd sworn to herself that if she ever encountered a witch she would either beat tracks the hell away from them or if need be, burn them to utter ash.

Not that she had anything against witches individually.

Just the ones who had taken part in the Triple Alliance against her family and their pack.

She had expected enemies in the North East Atlantic Pack but had hoped at the very least to have sanctuary in the house she would be sleeping in.

Her nail beds are tickling again and she shoves her hands into her back pockets,

"So…" she trails off as any rehearsed speech she may have had for this meeting goes right out the window,

"How long have you two been part of the pack?"

The girls share a confused look, "We're not" Bonnie states, "Elena's dating Elijah and I just came over for the day"

What?

_What?!_

"You're not…" she trails off, they weren't Nik's women, at least, they weren't giving any indication that they were and even if they weren't werewolves they should have at least known how to…

Oh.

Oh crap.

Werewolf custom stated that she had to be welcomed into the house by the Alpha's primary partner, otherwise she was challenging the woman's role and threatening the entire order of the pack.

But so far the only women in the general vicinity had been a sister, one human and a witch. She cast a glance over her shoulder, back to the werewolf who was green around the lips but still maintaining the red hot glare of loathing.

Oh _crap_.

Alpha Klaus didn't have any other women. He didn't have a harem for her to quietly join, she wasn't another in a long string of conquests.

She was Caroline Forbes and had walked hand-in-hand with the alpha of the North East Atlantic pack over the threshold of his home.

She feels the blood rush from her face as she realises that she had inadvertently just given any and every last enemy of her family cause for war.

* * *

"You are the biggest idiot that has ever lived!" Cary announces loudly as Klaus all but drags him into his cabin,

"The biggest, most monumental…"

The rest of the insult is cut off as the Pack Beta falls face first onto the couch, on no small part due to Klaus deciding to forcibly drop him there.

Marcel is lingering in the driveway outside, having opted to come along for the ride but lacking the necessary invitation to come into the family homestead.

Whilst vampires were welcome by Klaus' decree onto his pack lands, none of the pack wolves willingly extended invitations into their homes to any of the creatures.

Klaus of course being the exception, not only was he considered more wolf than vampire by his pack but it would be treasonous and either cause for execution or expulsion from the territory to deny him entry anywhere.

"Imbecile"

The word is slurred into a couch pillow before Cary can bring himself to roll over, Klaus ignores him in favour of heading to the kitchen and fetching a large jug of water and a glass for the soon to be dehydrated werewolf.

"Do you have any idea…something, _something_?!" he's asked as he removes the young man's favourite boots and decides to toss them onto the roof.

"Yes, yes…I have been a very bad hybrid" he snorts dismissively, "Should I go to bed without supper tonight or am I to be grounded?"

Cary throws his fingers up in a sign that any other Alpha would probably take as indication that the Beta no longer wanted all ten digits and would prefer to have them violently removed.

Klaus cuffs him on the head and leaves him to his rapidly approaching hangover.

Marcel is leaning against the hood texting Rebekah when he leaves the house and doesn't even look up from his phone until he's climbed into the car and slipped on his seatbelt one handed.

"She's cute at least" he allows, finally giving his opinion on the matter, "Perky and friendly enough for deposed royalty"

Klaus hums and drives slowly down through the suburban streets. Cary lived only a fifteen minute walk from the Mikaelson house but Klaus had seriously doubted his ability to make it home on his own two feet.

"She's a survivor, a fighter" he explains, knowing that Marcel will understand that statement.

"You think she's worth whatever trouble this'll cause with the wolves though?" Marcel asks as they pull into the driveway, Klaus kills the engine far enough away from the house that Caroline doesn't stand a chance of overhearing.

After meeting his family, he'd left her in the kitchen with Elijah and Elena, figuring between his brother's overwhelming love of manners and Elena Gilbert's obsessive need to befriend and be beloved by all who knew her, his wolf was relatively safe during his absence.

"You told me the Labonair's were planning to desiccate and hold me hostage" he points out,

"Either way there would have been a war"

He nods accepting this and rubs his lips with his forefinger, "True, but there's going to be trouble with anyone who ever benefitted from the Triple Alliance, they're sure as hell not going to want her here"

Klaus shrugs dismissively, "We don't need them, anyway, I want her here and I need her here, that's all that matters"

Marcel frowns slightly at the last statement but obviously decides to let it go for now.

Which is good because Klaus can hardly make sense of his feelings himself, let alone explain them to others.

He's still haunted by the words he had uttered during his and Caroline's last round of sex,

My mate.

* * *

Cary sleeps most of the afternoon and emerges from his house only to head to the Grill, essentially the only restaurant in Mystic Falls worth a damn and buy three rare steaks and enough fries to feed a small family.

He has one steak in hand and is chewing on it as he approaches his house, so lulled into the security of being Klaus' Beta and in the heart of the pack territory that he doesn't even notice the werewolf loitering in the shadows until she steps into the light of the street lamp.

He nearly chokes on the chunk of meat in his mouth and has to consciously swallow,

Caroline Forbes stands there with her hands in her back pockets, still wearing Alpha Klaus' t-shirt and successfully masking her own scent. She's giving off the air of nervousness and looks for all the world like any other young middle-class woman.

But Cary can see the determination in her blue eyes, the steely resolve and the hidden strength.

"We didn't get the chance to meet earlier," she begins tactfully, with her ever perky tone,

"I thought I'd come by and introduce myself"

He drops the steak back into his take away bag, and decides not to move any closer to his house, if he gets on his property line than by the rules of werewolf packs he would have to invite his Alpha's partner inside lest he be disrespecting Klaus and risk his position as pack Beta.

His family had held the position since before Klaus became a vampire, he's not going to be the one to end the centuries of power.

"How'd you find me?" he asks cautiously, wondering just how much freedom and liberties his Alpha had already given Caroline.

Then again, he'd walked hand-in-hand with her over the threshold of his home, two hundred years ago that would have been as legally binding in their world as marriage.

Hell, even today if the entire pack had been there to witness it, many would have considered it to be a marriage.

Thank God he'd been the only one there.

She shrugs, glancing towards his house but otherwise unconcerned with the lack of invitation "You're listed in the phone book"

The phone book.

He almost laughs out loud. In this era of googling and cell phones he'd completely forgotten that phone books were still a thing with address and numbers listed.

Hell, the Originals probably only had one so that they had something heavy and cheap to throw at each other.

At this point the landline in his house was there only because he was too lazy to get it removed.

"So you thought you'd drop by and…what?" Cary challenged, "Make nice?"

"Apologise actually" she told him, "I'm sorry, I honestly had no idea that he didn't already have a partner, if I had…I wouldn't have crossed the threshold"

So she understood pack laws and traditions at least.

Then again, so did Klaus. He had sat next to Cary at the campfire every night when his father, the last Beta had explained the customs in detail.

He momentarily wonders how his father- killed in a five car pile-up in Salem- would have handled this situation.

Cary snorted and decided belatedly that doing so hurt his head too much, "I thought Forbes' loved causing wars?"

"We never started a war unless we were sure we had the numbers" she points out, "I've gathered that much and your pack…it's not my pack, not yet. Not until the full moon"

The full moon.

On the night of the next full moon, if Caroline Forbes walked through the pack unchallenged that night she would run with Klaus and become the North East Atlantic Pack's Alpha Female.

Of course, until then, any wolf in the pack was able to pick a fight with her. Sure they had to welcome her into their homes but if they jumped her in the street and bashed her head against the curb she would be declared Aeternae Alienus- Eternal outsider and could never be accepted as Klaus' life partner.

And Cary figured that every female wolf who had ever hoped of becoming Klaus' mate would probably be forming an orderly queue waiting for her to let her guard down.

He glances up at the rapidly approaching night,

"If I were you," he warns, "I'd head back home to Klaus"

When he looks back down into her eyes he's stunned by the animalistic gleam,

"The night doesn't scare me" she tells him, "And neither do my challengers"

* * *

A/N- More family meetings next chapter


	11. Barely Dressed Reunions

A/N- I'm back bringing you your Tuesday/My midday Wednesday update!

* * *

Dinner that night was a curious affair.

Caroline had spent the afternoon drinking endless cups of coffee with Elijah and Elena.

Apparently neither of them had realised that supplying an already nervous werewolf with enough caffeine to make a hibernating bear hyperactive might have been a bad idea.

Caroline had been too worried about making a good impression to turn away any of the cups and when conversation had faltered she'd found a cookbook that someone must have either bought as a gag gift or on a whim.

She'd started browsing through it out of sheer curiosity and when she'd found a recipe she liked the look of she had checked the fridge and the pantry for the ingredients.

Dinner was never really a meal that the Original family sat down and ate together, after all, they rarely needed to eat at all and when they did it was either for the benefit of a human, a way of getting together or out of boredom.

But Klaus had come home to find Caroline cooking Spaghetti Bolognese and baking an apple pie for desert with Kol watching her every move as he ate all the garlic bread she had made.

She gave him a welcoming kiss on the cheek,

"Hope this is okay" she pointed to the food and Klaus smacked Kol's hand away from the boiling pot,

"It's fine love, use whatever you wish"

"I'm hungry" his little brother complained and he glared at him,

"This dinner isn't for you"

"Actually" Caroline interjected, "It might have to be, I've never been allowed to cook before and I think I made too much"

This was a casual, throw-away comment but being Klaus' brother and as such well-versed in the detection of abuse, Kol picked up on the meaning behind the words and shared a glance with him.

Klaus gave a subtle shake of his head and placed his hands on her hips, kissing the back of her neck as she began portioning out the plates.

Rebekah still hadn't made her way home and Marcel had gone out looking for her but thankfully Elijah and Elena were in the next room watching the television and the young girl had bounded in eagerly when she heard Klaus' call for dinner.

Which was beneficial because it _wasn't_ a request.

If his peculiar little wolf wanted a family meal then his family would damn well sit down around the table and eat whatever she served them.

Fortunately Kol would eat anything that wasn't liberally soaked in vervein so he's at the table and giving himself an overly generous portion when the rest of them settle down around them,

"This looks lovely" Elena gushed happily from Elijah's side and Caroline beamed at her.

Klaus had figured the two of them would become friends but he's still relieved that he's not facing trouble from that quarter.

If Elena likes Caroline then she'll either bring Elijah around or at the very least prevent him from demanding the girl leave the house.

Klaus takes the bowl of pasta and ensures that Caroline has a large serve before filling his own plate, she throws him a quick confused frown but then turns to Kol as he mumbles something around a full mouth of the last of the garlic bread.

"Um…?" she giggles and glances quizzically to Elijah,

"What language was that?"

The eldest brother shrugs, "I wish I knew…try finishing your food first Kol"

Kol glares and swallows before speaking again, "I said…tell us about yourself Caroline"

Klaus senses her go still beside him but she shrugs dismissively, "Nothing much to tell but what about you, Klaus told me you liked jokes?"

Well, actually he'd called him a rascal but when the three other occupants at the table snort and snicker into their food he raises an eyebrow,

"What's he done now?"

"He stuck Marcel in a box last night and tried to mail him back to New Orleans" Elena reveals, laughing so hard she has to take a deep breath and a sip of water.

Klaus growls at his brother who rolls his eyes, "You saw Marcie-poo today Nik, obviously he's perfectly fine…besides" he added cheekily,

"You should have seen Rebekah's face, she was absolutely furious!"

"I did see Rebekah's face" Elijah grumbled, "She woke me up this morning to scream in my ear while you got to enjoy a snapped neck"

Caroline gasps, her eyes wide and looks to Klaus, he takes her hand and squeezes it reassuringly,

"Snapped necks mean nothing for vampires love, we're out for five minutes is all"

"Oh" she gives a little laugh and the rest of the dinner is a lovely affair, although the brothers all quickly notice that Caroline expertly deflects any questions about herself whilst managing to collect information about them.

After dinner and a delicious desert she lingers at the table, seemingly lost before gathering up the plates with his help and carrying them back to the kitchen.

Klaus can see her movements slow and the way she covers her yawn with the back of her hand, he slips an arm around her waist,

"My room is through the living room, to the right and the second door down" he whispers in her ear. She nods and bids Elena and Elijah a quick goodnight, following his directions and disappearing around the corner.

Kol caught his arm as he went to follow her, "Nik…" he glanced to the living room and waited until he heard the bedroom door close,

"Has she ever been allowed to sit at a dinner table before?"

He doesn't know.

And he doesn't particularly want to find out the extent of the deprivations she endured over the years.

But he knows he'll have to find out sooner or later, if nothing else so that he can comprehend the exact kind of people Jacques and Lila Labonair are.

* * *

Caroline is sitting cross-legged on his bed when he joins her, stripped down to one of her t-shirts and panties and he tries not to focus on her lovely thighs,

"I went for a walk this evening" she confesses as he pulls off his shirt,

"Oh?"

He'd noticed that she'd disappeared for a good half-hour although she'd slipped away so quietly nobody had realised until she'd re-entered the kitchen and taken the pasta sauce off the stove.

"Where'd you go?" he asks, not wanting to interrogate her but still glad that she isn't keeping secrets from him,

"Cary's" she explained, "I wanted to check in with him"

He nods, "You know he thinks I'm an idiot" he grins as he hops on the bed and crawls up to her, nudging her onto her back and hovering over her,

"He said so himself"

"Well," she steals a kiss from him, "I think he's right"

"Oh?" he nips at her jawline, "How so love?"

"You should have told me that you didn't have any other women Klaus" she sighs and smacks his hand off her hip,

"I never would have walked over the threshold if I'd have known there wasn't an Alpha female in the pack…you do know what that means?"

He rolls his eyes, "Yes Caroline I understand werewolf traditions, I've only had them drilled into me for the last twenty bloody years"

"So you understand that anybody and everybody who hates the idea of a Forbes gaining power is going to start circling your lands for a sign of weakness? Even you bring in one hundred women now, this is still going to be a declaration of war!"

"Then let them come!" he shouts, pushing back onto his heels,

"I'm the most powerful creature in the world love, if I want to resurrect Helen of Bloody Troy and marry her in Vegas with Elvis officiating the ceremony there isn't a damn wolf capable of stopping me"

She's lying underneath him, watching him warily, not breathing as he forces himself to calm down, he drops back onto his elbows, hovering over her again,

"I want and need you here Caroline" he growls the words out through clenched teeth, trying to make her understand what he can't properly articulate,

"So stay here with me and don't be afraid, nothing and no-one can or will harm you"

She reaches down and pulls her t-shirt off, revealing her bare breasts to him,

"Okay" she promises as he lowers his head and begins kissing her neck, "I'll stay"

"Good…but you _have_ to stop doing that" he scolds as she smacks his hand away from her thighs,

"Your family is in the house!" she reminds him and he snorts,

"Fuck my family"

"I'd rather not" she deadpans, "Two of them have partners and the other one looks like he'd be a real selfish lover"

"Hey!" Kol shouts from the living room, "I'm a great lover thank-you very much!"

"Stop eavesdropping you perverted freak" Klaus hollers back.

* * *

"I like her" Elena announces as she curls up on the couch beside Elijah, snuggling into his side,

"She seems really sweet"

"Hmm" Elijah makes a non-committal noise while his mind races ahead, trying to determine the next logical steps of those around him, at least until Elena's finger pokes him in the ribs,

"Stop that" she lectures, kissing his shoulder as he turns to her in surprise,

"Stop what?"

"Worrying" she rests her chin on his chest, "Everything will be fine no matter what"

He relented with a sigh, "Perhaps…" he reaches around her to bring his watch up, "Although I should really be getting you home"

Elena grumbles and buries her face in his shirt, "I'm too tired" she protests with an adorable pout,

"I'll drive" he points out but she yawns and stretches out along his body,

"It's cold outside"

"We're in the middle of a heat wave"

"I think your car has engine troubles"

"It was serviced yesterday"

"_Elijah_" she moans, "Please let me stay"

He buries his face in her hair, hating himself for letting them be separated but he had promised Elena's aunt that the two of them wouldn't live together until she was twenty-five, he wanted her to be with the family she had left, enjoying her youth.

But she was unbuttoning his shirt and kissing his chest, "I'll go home afterwards" she lied blatantly.

And fool that he was, he let himself believe her.

* * *

_Several Hours Earlier._

The car tires squealed as the vehicle flew off the asphalt and onto the gravel road, kicking up stones as it came to a sudden jarring stop in front of the cabin.

Lila jumped out of the car and stormed up to the porch, wobbling dangerously on her ten inch heels which made her even more furious,

"What the hell do you mean she's missing?!" she screeched as her husband shifted his weight by the front door,

"I called you the second I realised she was gone" he promises, reverting to the nervous man he always is when the two of them are alone together. His courage long since worn down to nothing by her constant stream of disapproval, abuse and disdain for his mistakes,

"But her bag is gone, her scent is barely detectable and nothing's been touched in days…see" he hurries inside and runs his finger along the windowsill,

"Dust…she'd never leave the place unclean, not when we'd ordered her to get this place ready for us"

Lila storms past him into the kitchen where she sees a pot on the stove. Canned soup which Caroline hadn't had permission to eat and which had already gone off, she'd been gone a day at least.

Husband and wife look up as another car comes into the driveway and moments later Hayley is bounding into the house,

"What's going on?" she demands, "Have you found Caroline? Is she okay?"

Lila growls and does a check of all the bedrooms, momentarily pausing on the threshold of the master bedroom.

Her master bedroom.

Oh, she wouldn't have.

There is no way the bitch would have been so defiant.

But when Lila flips the mattress over and presses her nose to the material she pulls it back with a shriek.

Her bed had been recently defiled.

And she would stake the shoes she was wearing on it having been the Hybrid and…

"That _whore_!" she screams, "That no good, filthy, _ungrateful_ whore!"

Hayley is in the room a second later, "_Who_? Has someone hurt Caroline?"

"Nobody has hurt her" Lila screeches, "The damn bitch fucked your intended fiancé and has probably run off to avoid getting punished for it!"

Jacques lumbers into the room, "Not Alpha Mikaelson?" he asks stupidly and she doesn't have the patience to correct his error,

"Of course the Alpha" she rolls her eyes, "Who else? Not Jackson, he didn't have the time but she probably tried to seduce him on the car ride up, the filthy slut"

Her husband's mouth drops open,"But where is she now?" he whines, unhappy with the turn of events, with the Alpha's disappearance all the entertainments had been cancelled which meant he couldn't spend the rest of the week showing off his wealth and power to his friends and Lila had had to cancel whatever her plan had been, the one she'd told him he hadn't needed to know about but he did know that this would mean she would be in a bad mood for at least a week.

"Alert everyone!" Lila orders, "Contact the other packs as well. Tell them all to be on the lookout for the Forbes bitch and to bring her straight back to us, we'll offer a bounty if we have to and tell them I don't care what they do to her as long as she's delivered to us alive!"

Hayley didn't hear that implied threat, when she'd realised that Caroline had left of her own free will she'd gone back out to her car and sat down on the hood.

Her best friend and surrogate sister had left her all alone.

She sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye.

* * *

_Present Time. _

"I'm here, I'm here" Alaric Saltzman grumbles into the phone as his fiancée berates him from the other end of the line,

"Yes, I'll bring her home…Jenna it's two o'clock in the morning, I didn't make the half hour drive because I enjoy the scenery"

With a yawn he hangs up, climbs from the car and ambles up the driveway to the Mikaelson manor, not even bothering to knock on the door and not the slightest bit surprised that it was unlocked. When your family are the most powerful beings on earth, the concept of security is either lax or overlooked entirely.

Kol Mikaelson is sitting on the marble staircase only half-awake in blue pyjamas eating from an obscenely large tub of ice-cream,

"Hey Buffy" he calls around a mouth of peanut butter and chocolate, "What's up?"

Alaric sighs and runs a hand through his hair,

"Where's Elijah's room?" he asks wearily, "Jenna wants Elena home now so we can all pretend like she and the vampire aren't…"

"_Rik_!"

He hears his name called but doesn't recognise the voice, he turns to the living room and squints through the darkness as a young, barely dressed woman throws herself into view, clutching the doorjamb to hold herself up, "Rik? _Seriously_, tell me it's you!"

He quickly tries to place her, running through the faces of all his students in his mind. She's blonde, blue eyed, she looks familiar…

"Oh my God" he laughs in disbelief, "_Caroline_?!"

He meets her halfway and she's in his arms in seconds, sobbing as she holds him tightly, his hand stroking her hair comfortingly,

"I thought you were dead" she cries, "They shot you, I thought you were dead"

"Hey, hey now" he tells her as lights go on and people come searching for the source of the noise,

"I'm alive" he tells her dumbly and pulls back, setting her feet down on the ground and wiping the tears from her cheeks,

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you" he whispers, "I tried a few times but…they threatened my family"

She hugs him again, seeming determined to break a rib with the force of her embrace,

"I'm just so happy you're okay" she gushes.

He closes his eyes and sends a quick prayer heavenward, remembering that night the axe in his knee, the bullet through his brain, the grief of waking up to find the town decimated, all his friends dead and the three times afterward when he'd tried to get to her in Baton Rouge and been killed in increasingly gruesome ways until they'd given him a picture of his parents, sister and ex-wife and threatened to kill them all.

"So,"

Their moment is interrupted by Kol who's now scraping the bottom of the empty ice-cream tub,

"You're a Forbes trained hunter" he accuses Alaric, "I should have figured from all the arsenal you have stashed around town"

Alaric rolls his eyes, he's not frightened to admit that. The Forbes had only ever taken the best potentials to train as vampire hunters,

"I was yeah, but that doesn't matter now"

He releases Caroline as Klaus comes forward and slips an arm around her waist,

"What matters is that you're here" he tells her, "You're free of the Labonairs"

She hiccups and rests her head on Klaus' shoulder, looking every bit an emotional young woman except for the ambition and determination shining in her bright eyes,

"Yes I am"

Alaric barely remembers to take Elena with him when he leaves that night and Caroline only lets him go reluctantly when he promises to meet her for coffee the next morning.

He climbs into bed beside Jenna with an exhausted sigh, sliding his arm over her side so that his hand can cradle her stomach where their little baby is just beginning to show, once he's found the tiny bump he falls asleep contented.

Tomorrow he will see William and Elizabeth's daughter again, he can only imagine what Caroline Forbes will get up to now that she's no longer captive.

God help the Crescent Clan.

* * *

A/N- Ass kicking next chapter. Also can someone tell me more about the rumour that Julie Plec doesn't want Nathaniel Buzolic back on the Originals?  
And everyone who's saying- Yay we've got the whole family now- we don't, we're still missing Henrik.


	12. Grilling Bitches

A/N- Esther is the most confusing, hypocritical bitch. Oh I turned my family into impure monsters, oh wait, I'm a witch- witches and werewolves are pure even though my thirst is the reason this all started in the first place. 

* * *

The next morning, Klaus has to grab Caroline around the waist and drag her back to bed.

"I promised to meet Alaric for coffee!" she protests as he holds her down on his lap,

"Sweetheart, it's six am, the only place in Mystic Falls you can get coffee at this hour is the hospital"

She pout and checks her watch, "Maybe by the time I get to his house…"

"If you walk it'll be seven am and you'll still be an hour shy of any cafes being open, now…" he plays with the hem of her paisley skirt, his finger finding the small burn hole from when Lila had 'accidentally' dropped a cigarette on her, "Why don't we find a way to distract you, hmmm?"

She huffs impatiently but wiggles and rubs herself wantonly against the erection straining his boxers,

"Okay…but let me get undressed first" she stands up and peels off her skirt and panties, bending over and unintentionally giving Klaus a wonderful display that had him raring to go,

"Because I really need to…oh!"

A quick nip at her backside and he's on his feet, his hand snaking around to her stomach and down to cup her and then slide one exploratory finger into her vagina before adding a second when she is warm and wet. "I'm sorry love" he teased as she rubbed herself against his hand,

"Were you saying something?"

She moans and throws her head back, "Kiss me" she begs.

And he finds himself more and more unable to deny her anything.

So he brushes his lips against hers and delves his tongue into her mouth, circling and teasing hers as his fingers play her expertly, when he figures that she is ready for him, his hands grip her hips as he sits back down on the edge of the bed and pulls her onto his lap, sliding home in one smooth thrust.

She wraps an arm around his neck to keep her balance as he lifts her up and brings her back down again, setting the pace as they bring in the morning with the fast, passionate lovemaking that they are quickly both becoming accustomed- addicted- to.

And Caroline is getting accustomed to denying Klaus.

"I need to shower" she protests after her attempt to walk to the ensuite was hindered by him grabbing her around the waist and suggesting a second bout,

"You made a mess"

"Hmm" he kisses her neck and pinches her breast, "But I'm afraid my love that you still have some time to kill"

She falls back into his arms with a sigh of surrender and is about to kiss him when a thought strikes her, "I could make waffles for breakfast!"

His smile drops off his face as she bounds excitedly to the bathroom,

"You know as your alpha I expect more submission" he shouts after her,

"Let her cook Nik!" Kol shouts as he rolls out of bed,

"Stop eavesdropping you perverted freak!"

* * *

"Morning" Elena chimed as she came into the kitchen, still wrapped up in her father's old dressing gown,

"No it isn't" the protest comes from behind her,

She smirks as Rick lumbers down the stairs, already dressed in shirt and jeans but looking like he'd much rather still be in bed.

Jeremy is buttering his toast, up early for the morning shift at the Grill and watching in sympathy as Jenna's boyfriend, their uncle? Leans against the kitchen counter and rubs his face,

"God" he groans, "I _need_ coffee…and more coffee, maybe some crack"

Brother and sister laugh before he hushes them, "Don't tell Jenna I said that"

"Why are you up so early anyway?" Jeremy asks, putting on a fresh pot of coffee for the three of them.

"Caroline" Rick yawns her name, "She'll want to see me first thing"

"Who?"

"Klaus' new girlfriend" Elena explained, "A werewolf who Rick knows from like twenty years ago"

He accepts this information with the barest of interest, of course Jeremy knew about the supernatural he'd been clued in around the same time as Jenna but because his only interactions with werewolves or vampires were when they came into the Grill, it was easy for him to brush it off and continue with his normal teenage life.

Rick pulls himself up with a sigh, "What's breakfast like at the Grill?" he asks curiously,

"Decent or should I eat something now?"

Elena checked her phone, "It's barely eight"

"Yeah but I have a feeling…"

He's interrupted by a brisk knock on the door and he grins, "There it is"

He pushes himself away from the counter and heads to the front door, contemplating whether or not to wait another minute to see what would…

"Hi Rick!"

Caroline's perky tone reaches his ears, he shook his head, he'd forgot she could either smell or hear him, he shook his head smiling and opened the door, leaning against it.

She stood on the welcome mat beaming eagerly and clearly wide awake despite the early hour, she has her father's smile.

"Hey" he grinned, standing back "Come on in"

Her smile falters and she hesitates, watching him uncertainly and he resists the urge to groan.

Right, he'd forgotten about the damn custom.

Crap, how'd it go again?

Jesus, this wasn't even his house and he wasn't exactly the head of the Sommer/Gilbert household…

The hell with it, Jenna and Jeremy wouldn't know and Elena likely wouldn't give a damn.

Why'd werewolves have to have so many traditions and rules anyway? Half the time they were either nomadic or barely functioning as a society.

Still, he figures she's not stepping over this threshold until he says the words.

"Caroline, I welcome you into my home, as my dearest friend and beloved guest in high times and as one protected and defended with my life in low times"

Her smile returns and she bounds over the threshold, kissing his cheek as she passes,

"I gladly accept your hospitality"

She squeezes his arm and her eyes are too bright.

Right. For her, he supposed traditions was all she had left.

Caroline studies everything around her eagerly and greets Jeremy with friendly enthusiasm, overwhelming the teenage boy with her gorgeous face and bubbly personality.

"You know" he stammers bewildered, "When Elena said you were an old friend of Rick's I thought she meant you were…you know…forty"

She laughs, "Less of a friend, more of a little brat who used to come bug him two or three times a week. You were an unpaid, unofficial babysitter" she jests, bumping him with her shoulder,

"I feel as though I should apologise…or offer you back pay?"

He draws her close with a one-armed hug, "Your parents took me in and literally gave me a home…we're square"

She rests against him for a moment and he takes the time to marvel at how fragile she feels under his hand, how thin she is, how breakable her bones are.

But then she's away again, prattling about the Grill and their coffee, apologising for not having brought the waffles she'd made but Kol had nearly eaten them all and Klaus had tackled him to the ground and held him there so she could eat as well.

After three years of having lived in close proximity to Bill and Liz Forbes, Rick was used to the rapid conversation and information overload but poor Elena and Jeremy were completely bewildered.

Shrugging on his jacket, he follows Caroline out the front door and glances about the street, searching for an unfamiliar car,

"Are you driving?" he asks confused but she's staying on the sidewalk,

"I walked here" she explained, "I was awake super early and didn't want to wake you so I walked, it'll help me figure out my way around town"

His training picked up on all the facts and ran them through his head,

"You knew where I lived?"

She giggles and starts walking backwards, leading him towards town, "Of course silly"

She says that with such confidence.

Her father had been able to do that too, instinctively know where his people were at all times. He understood that some Alphas had that connection with their wolves.

But Rick was one hundred percent human.

Still, he follows her. Of course he does, she's Caroline Forbes.

* * *

"Tell me everything!" she demands excitedly as the waiter brings over their two steaming mugs of coffee which Alaric is really beginning to regret ordering considering how amped up Caroline is right now.

They are sitting at a table in the very centre of the Grill, which is beginning to fill up as people come in for breakfast or coffee like them.

A group even has a pool game going which Alaric puzzles over for a second before figuring they must be nightshift workers.

"Okay, slow down" he tells her, "It's a long story and I want to know about you, what you…"

She huffed impatiently, "I didn't endure anything that I couldn't survive"

But her gaze drops as she says this and her eyelashes flicker as she takes a steadying breath,

"I'm alive and I am in one piece, now tell me about my people"

He notices that she doesn't say that she is whole.

"Okay" he shifts in his seat and tries to ignore the horrific memories that flash before his eyes,

"In truth. Your parents had known for months that their enemies were massing against them, buying allies and demanding soldiers but they hadn't anticipated just how far the Labonair money was flowing, they hadn't realised that we had traitors in our own damn village. Ten people- two wolves, eight humans, they'd been sneaking enemies into the territory and stockpiling explosives around town. The night of the full moon, when all the wolves were in the field getting ready to change, the rest of us were at the bar as always when everything exploded. We were attacked by the witches and hired guns, I shot my way out of the bar…I wasn't even supposed to be armed that night but I'd got a new gun and I was showing it off. I was running for ammunition when you stumbled across my path…I…I remember you were pulled from my arms. When I…woke up, it was chaos, the entire town was up in flame, the surrounding forest…nobody was trying to defend the territory at this point we were just trying to get the children and humans to safety and those of us that made it out alive…well half of us died from exposure. We were chased deep into the forest, thirty of us at most…I think fifteen were alive in the morning"

Caroline swallows and turns her face to the window to shield her grief before squaring her shoulders and turning back,

"How many of those fifteen were children?"

Alaric finds that he's gripping the table so hard that his nails are digging into the varnish, "Ten"

She nods, "I'm guessing they were scattered to the wind?"

"Yeah" he confirms, clearing his throat, "We…we tried to keep them with us but…someone had placed a call to social services and without any proof of relation…"

She waves her hand impatiently, "Legally you couldn't keep them with you and I understand you couldn't possibly hide that many children…but do you know their names? What happened to them? Where they are?"

He opened his mouth but before he could utter a word, his survival instinct went into overdrive.

He saw the pool cue swinging towards Caroline's head and shouted her name.

She never even flinched, she jumped smoothly to her feet, out of the way and raised her chair up to block the blow.

The cue shattered and dropped into three pieces on the floor, Alaric shot up out of his seat and stared incredulously at the girl, a former student of his, Annie.

"_What the hell?!_" he demanded but neither of the women noticed him. Caroline righted the chair and set it back on the floor,

"Do you _mind_!" she hissed at her female attacker, "I was in the middle of a private conversation!"

"You're an Arctos _whore_!" Annie spat but Caroline only flicked her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms, "Yeah and the sky is blue, what's your point?"

He glances around and sees the group he'd written off as nightshift workers were all gathering around now, standing between the tables and chairs, blocking the sight of anyone else in the café and preventing them from coming to help.

"You aren't welcome here" Annie snarls and Rick reaches for his phone, trying to remember if he had Klaus' number or really any Original at this point.

He wants to end the fight before Caroline stops pulling her punches.

Caroline however, still doesn't seemed concerned, "Really?! Because your Alpha welcomed me right into his home and right into his bed, didn't even ask me to sleep in a guest room so I would say that I am very welcome…"

She breaks off with a snarl, someone has grabbed her shoulder and she brings the heel of her shoe down hard enough on their foot that they release her with a yelp.

She grabs another person by their ear and smacks their head against the table, knocking them unconscious. There's a flash of silver and suddenly Annie is holding a steak knife, ready to slit Caroline's throat.

She lunges but Caroline sidesteps her at the last moment and holds out her hand, catching Annie around the neck.

And that's when the wolves realise they aren't in a fair fight, because now Caroline is dangling a girl roughly her own size in the air by her throat with her nails darkening and sharpening into claws, her eyes shining yellow and her teeth elongating,

"One of the benefits of being a Forbes" Caroline growls dropping the girl sharply on her butt, and looking down at her as she speaks,

"We control our change, not the full moon"

She clenches her hands into loose fists at her side as she turns to face the other werewolves who are now dropping their gaze or pretending that they're just observers,

"Um…anyone else want to try?" she asks and seems quite confused when no-one steps forward, and slightly disappointed.

Her blood must be up.

"Fine" she drops her shoulder and turns back to the table, picking up her coffee and downing it,

"But don't go sobbing to Klaus that you don't like his choice in partners because you had the chance to turn me out and backed down"

She strode to the door, eyeing up the regular customers who were turning their faces away and pretending not to notice.

They'd been conditioned to look the other way.

Alaric followed her out onto the pavement where she stopped and took a deep breath,

"Seriously! Did you see that?!" she demands, whirling on him, "They backed down…in their own territory, with the fiercest Alpha in the land and they backed down!"

She shakes her head in disgust, "An Arctos wolf would have died before backing down"

They did die.

Nearly all of them.

And their partners and young had died with them.

But he takes her arm and leads her down the street that is still waking up in the early summer morning.

"Never mind them" he tells her, "Look, as I was saying a lot of the children were lost but Carol Lockwood got both herself and her son Tyler away- along with two of the kids. I can track them down for you if you like"

She grinned, "Do it"

* * *

"She used _what_?!"

Klaus' furious voice echoed throughout the house, a tone that generally warned the siblings and well…really anyone with survival instinct that now was not the time to approach the Original hybrid.

He was pacing the parlour furiously as Caroline sat on the couch with her legs crossed, glaring at Cary who'd found out about the fight at the Grill and come to Klaus with the facts before the rumours could reach his ears.

Word had quickly spread about the challenge to Caroline but understandably, everyone had tried to keep quiet about the fact that Annie had brought a steak knife to a wolf fight.

Wolves didn't use weapons to fight, it was an act of extreme cowardice to do so.

Klaus had known that members of his pack would challenge Caroline and that he would have to step back and allow her to prove herself but he hadn't figured the first challenge would come so soon or be so…

"I should kick her out" he decides, his rage boiling over "I should burn her house to the ground and kick her out of my pack"

"No!" Caroline shouts, reaching out her hands and drawing Klaus in so that he's sitting on the coffee table in front of her,

"Hey…I'm fine, the girl was desperate and made a stupid mistake, it's going to take more than that to scare me off"

He growls and presses her hands to his lips, "She brought a weapon to a wolf fight…she shamed me and my rule"

Caroline rolls her eyes, "She's a teenage girl whose Alpha is hooking up with an evil siren who's going to lead him off the path of righteousness"

Rebekah and Marcel's laughter from upstairs was so loud that the birds in the trees outside were startled and took off.

But it had the desired effect, Klaus smirked and nipped at the inside of her wrist,

"Will you lead me into temptation love?"

She bites her lip, "Maybe" she teases, "Although not right now"

She glances at Cary who rolls his shoulders, "I'll take the hint and leave now"

He's at the door as Klaus bounds up the stairs with a bucket of ice for Marcel, an act of revenge suggested to him by Caroline as opposed to his typical tendency to throw his ward down the stairs.

Walking away, Cary finds himself thinking of Caroline and admiring her with a newfound respect.

She could have had Annie banished from the pack for threatening her with a weapon but instead hadn't breathed a word until Cary had revealed everything to Klaus.

And honestly, he'd expected Klaus to be absolutely furious, granted he and his siblings used weaponry against each other- everything from military grade firearms to day old baguettes that they would hit each other with. But his Alpha had never needed a weapon to take out a foe, relying on his strength and speed and having respected the werewolf code of honour.

The code of honour that Annie had stupidly broken.

But Caroline had defended the girl and redirected Klaus' rage into his passion for her.

Cary had never seen anyone capable of really talking his Alpha down.

He was beginning to see what was so special that Klaus was willing to go to war for her.

* * *

A/N- Caroline kicking ass, probably more to follow.


	13. Smoke Alarms and Sandwich Platters

A/N- So this chapter is a few weeks late as are all my stories at the moment but unfortunately uni life got in the way and will continue to do so for a few more weeks but I will try and get caught up as soon as possible.

* * *

The last time these dozen or so individuals had gathered together innocent people had been murdered.

Lives lost, homes destroyed, survivors scattered to the wind.

And it turns out it may have been all for nothing.

They gather now on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, in an ill-used church hall because whilst Jacques and Lila had demanded full attendance, they hadn't been willing to offer their ample homestead for the meeting.

The witches arrive first, casting spells around the area to ensure their safety before sitting down to wait. The vampires are next, freshly fed and bored.

Out of all the werewolves, Jacques and Lila arrive last to preserve their dignity.

They swan in, both dressed to the nines in flashy business suits to flaunt the wealth and privilege they'd gained after the fall of the Arctos pack.

The casually dressed witches and the raggedly dressed werewolves all felt the sting of their careless statement.

The vampires were wondering who'd put the show-offs in charge when the pair boarded the barely off the ground stage.

"Thank-you for coming" Jacques begins, clearing his throat,

"Now, as you know- Caroline Forbes, daughter of William and Elizabeth Forbes, the Arctos Alphas and therefore their heir…"

"She ran away last week" Lila interrupts impatiently, seeing eyes glaze over "Worse still, the bitch seduced Alpha Klaus and has become his whore"

Now that got everyone's attention.

For centuries the Originals had been fireside stories one told to frighten their children, myths that they hoped had no basis in reality.

All that had changed when Klaus had emerged from the woodwork to claim his pack, to return to Mystic Falls and lead them. A few idiots had challenged him in the beginning and their body parts were still scattered throughout the forests of Virginia.

Those that were wise had tried to build alliances with him but had never managed more than idle courtesies, promises that he would not seek their lands and safe passage through his territory.

Nothing more.

They'd considered him a dormant monster, a sleeping beast until the damn Labonairs had caused issue with his son Marcel and prodded him awake, causing him to raise his head and sniff the air.

And apparently pick up the scent of a bitch in heat.

"Why didn't you just keep Caroline Forbes out of sight?" one of the witches questions smugly, enjoying the discomfort on Lila's face.

She was one of the few who hadn't brushed off the five year old orphan all those years ago but had kept an eye on her, she'd seen the way the Labonairs had trotted the Arctos heir out every chance they'd had, showing off their power and strength through their captive wolf, assuming she was a quiet pup.

Only that pup had turned out to have a vicious bite.

"That's not important!" Lila screeches,

"What is important is our next move, what if the whore decides that she wants vengeance for the slaughter of her pack?"

That drew the concern of the Triple Alliance.

This was the reason so many of them had voted for the child to be killed all those years ago, to ensure that she would never have the chance to rise up and seek revenge.

"Perhaps we can negotiate with Alpha Klaus?" a vampire suggests, "He is reasonable, we'll explain that her presence in his lands is dangerous and threatening, especially when they border her former territory and ask that he return her immediately…or at the very least banish her from his home and his pack, without his protection she'll be forced into hiding and will be completely powerless"

Jacques and Lila are quite put out that they weren't the ones to suggest this but after another hour it is agreed upon that a delegation will be sent to the North East Atlantic Pack.

A young witch named Lucy, barely legal age herself sits silent throughout the meeting, wide-eyed as she tried to understand the situation.

"Why do we hate her so much Auntie?" Lucy asked as they stepped into the parking lot,

Abigail sighed, "It's not that we _hate_ her Luce, it's just that she was born under a blood moon and held too dangerous a destiny, it was simply safer if she was…contained"

* * *

Tyler Lockwood sits in his car two blocks away, the burner phone strapped to the ceiling fan and the call going through loud and clear to him.

He listens with adrenaline racing through his veins.

He'd been waiting _years_ for this chance.

He'd grown up in exile, with his frightened mother who'd in turn refuse to tell him anything about their lives before and then reminisce fondly about those days and his father.

When Tyler had turned eighteen he'd begun his plans to rescue Caroline Forbes, the Arctos heir, he'd tracked down old pack members and wrung promises of aid or alliance from them if he could pull it off.

Now he didn't have to.

Typical Alpha female, she'd rescued herself.

And together they could rebuild the pack.

* * *

The sun had only just begun to flicker through the large bay windows when Caroline was woken by a gentle hand caressing her bare arm. She mumbled and burrowed deeper into the blankets, seeking a few more minutes of sleep.

Half an hour later a loving kiss was placed on her cheek. She protests but opens her eyes with a soft sigh when those same lips trail down to her breast,

"Good morning" Nik whispers as his hand dips between her thighs, "Sleep well my love?"

She chuckles and stretches, "I would have, if _somebody_ wasn't a complete horn dog"

He grins innocently, "Maybe that evil somebody is just so enchanted by you he simply can't control himself?"

She rolls her eyes but pushes the doona out of the way and draws him down into her embrace,

"Fine…but no tickling"

He grinned and kissed her stomach, "No promises"

* * *

It had somehow only been one week since Caroline had arrived in Mystic Falls but somehow it felt longer.

She'd come into the Mikaelson manor and studied all the rooms and exits, walked over every inch of the grounds and despaired at the messy gardens.

She'd observed every piece of art in the house and tried to figure out which had been created by her Alpha and which had not.

She'd sat quietly when Cary had come over and watched the way he and Nik interacted, determining the information he usually required before he would make any final decisions.

Most importantly, Caroline was learning about how Mystic Falls was run and how Klaus ran his pack.

She was by his side whenever he attended pack business, quiet and unassuming but present so that people got used to seeing her there.

So that everyone got used to the idea of their first Alpha female in over nine hundred centuries.

Including his own family.

She gave Rebekah a shy smile as she padded into the kitchen, embarrassed about what the vampiress may have heard throughout the night.

Elijah was already at the counter, serving breakfast which he insisted on doing a few times a week as he claimed it wouldn't be fair for the duty to be placed solely on her shoulders.

Caroline felt a stab of disappointment however, because while guests shouldn't be imposed upon, family members definitely should and if Elijah was still treating her so politely than he must still consider her an outsider.

She greets him good morning and looks about for Elena and Bonnie, frowning when she doesn't catch sight or scent of them,

"Where are the girlfriends'?" she asks Elijah and Rebekah smirks around her bowl of fruit,

"Bonnie _isn't_ Kol's girlfriend" she announces loud and clear, "She's far too smart to be caught with him"

"Claws in little sister" Kol snaps as he comes around the corner, "It's too early to be dealing with your issues"

"Hey" Caroline jumps in before the siblings can begin their daily bickering,

"Rebekah I was thinking of heading to Richmond today to go shopping do you want to come with?"

She gets a suspicious glance from the blonde original but if there is one thing she's learnt over the last few days it's how to step in and distract the siblings before food, chairs or punches were thrown.

"I have business in Richmond today" Nik calls from the front door as the postman hand delivers their mail in return for a ten dollar tip,

"I'll take you shopping"

Rebekah snorts, "Really Nik? You, the rough and tough Alpha of Alphas are going to sit in Forever Twenty-One and tell Caroline whether the dress she's trying on works or not?"

He comes into the kitchen, sorting the mail in his typical fashion- everything for him was placed neatly in a pile, everything else was tossed carelessly aside-

"I'm an artist dear sister and I've seen women make fashion faux-pas for nine centuries, I figure by now I'll have picked up a working knowledge"

"But your sister is probably an expert" Caroline points out, "And as I have no idea what's in fashion at the moment, I need all the help I can get"

"She's right" Rebekah sighs, "God knows she can't go another day wearing denim shorts and your t-shirts Nik, she needs a wardrobe now"

Caroline grins as the ploy works, winking at him as Rebekah goes upstairs to grab her handbag,

"Thank-you" she whispers as he squeezes her hip, leaning against the counter opposite her as he rips open an envelope and peruses the contents before holding it to the stove top and turning one of the dials to set it on fire.

"_Brother_" Elijah scolds as the smoke rises from the burning card, "You'll set off the fire a…"

Everyone in the room winced as the shrill alarm sounded, blaring loudly above their heads,

"I thought we dismantled that bloody thing after Kol's cotton candy incident" Klaus apologises as he grabs a fork and tosses it up into the air expertly so that it hits the off button on the device,

"I put it back in after Elena tried cooking pasta that night" Elijah explained as Caroline darted around Klaus and holds up the envelope that he was planning to burn next,

"Ten _years_ I spent writing Jacques and Lila's correspondence" she tells him, pinching the gauche parchment between two fingers,

"I'd know their stationery anywhere, especially when Lila insists on spraying every letter with Chanel"

"_That's_ what that smell is!" Kol exclaims, "Burnt perfume…never smelt that before strangely enough"

Both werewolves in the room ignored him, Klaus made a half-hearted grab for the envelope but Caroline held it behind her back and then tucked it into her pocket, "Why are they writing to you Nik? I'm guessing it's not a 'Thank-you for attending' note"

He grimaces, "They're sending some representatives onto my land they wish to talk to me about...your _situation_"

Caroline nods, "Representatives from the Crescent Clan or the Triple Alliance?"

He shook his head, "Didn't specify my love but not to worry, I can handle…"

"If they mean the Crescent Clan then they'll have the majority of their wolves distract you while others try to kidnap or kill me, if they mean the Triple Alliance then there'll be witches in play- the only creatures who have a hope of stopping you and your family long enough to kill me"

She runs her hands through her hair before pulling it up into a ponytail, "When will they be arriving?"

"At the end of the week"

She nods, "Okay" she grabs his car keys, "Can I drive?"

A quick affirmative and she bounds out of the house, her perky attitude at odds with her cold deliberation regarding her enemies mere seconds before,

"There's something not adding up there" Kol points out unnecessarily.

* * *

"So," Caroline begins as she parks the car in the lot at the Short Pump Shopping Mall, Klaus riding shotgun and Rebekah grumpily confined to the backseat,

"Why is the Alpha of the North East Atlantic Pack…which _barely_ includes Virginia by the way, based in Mystic Falls when you could be using Richmond or D.C as your capital?"

Klaus laughs lightly at the idea of him running his Pack from the political capital of America, eating climate change deniers and oil lobbyists on the full moons,

"Wolves don't tend to do well in built up cities sweetheart" he points out as they climb from the car and he rounds the hood to tug her close with his hands on her hips,

"Too many of us heading to public camping grounds on the full moon catches the attention of people we'd prefer not to deal with, besides Mystic Falls was my home when I was human and traditionally speaking the lands belong to my pack, my biological father was Alpha there and now, so am I"

She hums in understanding and he kisses her goodbye, "However, I do have wolves who live in the city and I have to go see them but it's a small matter and they can meet you at the next full moon"

She smiles and pushes him away, turning to where Rebekah is tapping her foot impatiently,

"Okay" she studies the beautiful open-air shopping centre, "What should we hit first?"

* * *

Klaus waited until Caroline and Rebekah invaded Macy's before turning to the park barely half a mile from the shopping centre, when he'd known where his sister and his ma…peculiar little wolf were headed he'd texted the head of the wolves he was meeting to gather close by.

He knew that Caroline wasn't likely to receive any challenges in a crowded area with far too many witnesses and security but since receiving that letter from the Labonairs that morning, he wanted to be close by in case anyone planned on kidnapping her.

Although they'd have a hard time with Rebekah at her side.

He darts across the highway and between the trees, quickly disappearing from view as he heads deeper into the large park, looking for the playground and spotting his ten wolves sitting at the tables near the pagoda.

Whilst the oldest and most important members of Klaus' pack chose to live close to their alpha, a large number of wolves were scattered across his territory, watching over his lands lest any other packs get the idea of encroaching. As such, he had a trusted member overlooking each town where more than five of his people resided. They reported to him every week but at least once a month he would make the journey to see them personally and if possible, they would come down to Mystic Falls to run on the full moon.

"Hello mate" he greets David, pulling him into a quick hug and clapping him on the back,

"No disasters then?"

David shrugs, "Not with this lot anyway, Henry's thinking of getting married to a normal but we're not sure how to play the werewolf card, or whether or not she'll go screaming to the authorities"

Nik nods, "What's her name?"

"Anne" Henry answers as they approach the tables where a platter of sandwiches sit in the attempt to pass the meeting off as a group of friends having lunch.

He snorts, "The last couple I knew named Henry and Anne ended their relationship with accusations of adultery and incest, divorce and decapitation and only barely in that order. Let's see how long we can keep the secret in house hmmm?"

Henry nods, accepting the decision immediately. Satisfied, Klaus grabs one of the ham sandwiches on the platter and after taking a bite, motions to his wolves that they can commence eating as well.

Not that he's hungry, he's having a hard enough time adjusting his body to the daily consumption of breakfast and dinner without throwing a third square meal into the mix but werewolves never turned down the opportunity to grab food and he knew his doing so would remind his pack that he was part-vampire.

Speaking of,

"Any trouble from the vampires in town?" he asks around bites, somewhat relieved when he receives a collective shaking of heads, "Nah, not since Elijah came up…but they did ask if we couldn't repair the double-glazed windows of the café he broke"

Klaus shrugs, "Send me the bill…anything else?"

"Uh…"

There's momentary hesitation from David before Klaus raises his eyebrows ever so slightly, reminding him that the last time a pack official kept information from him he was exiled for three months.

"Well…every weekend, one of us will head to a different park or reserve around Richmond, just checking everything's okay you know and last week we picked up a scent in Joseph Bryans Park, at the very edge of our territory by Young's Pond…we think that it might have been an omega and then when we found out that you'd brought Caroline Forbes into the pack…"

"You think it was a former _Arctos_ wolf?" Klaus asks, blinking in surprise, but David nodded,

"Yeah…this isn't the first time we've caught omegas in Virginia and most of them really knew the lay of the land too, which makes sense as technically anything west of Midlothian and south of Sussex is Arctos territory…was Arctos territory" he rapidly corrects himself but Klaus isn't about to take offence.

He claimed the state of Virginia because after the Arctos fall it was just territory going to waste and the actual line where the Arctos territory began had always been murky at best, especially when they had been expanding every few years.

He momentarily wondered if, now that he had Caroline, he could also make a claim on the South East Atlantic territory. The Beta of the pack was a distant cousin of Caroline's who'd taken over when her grandfather had died shortly after her parents had been murdered and she'd been taken into captivity. Now however, her blood-claim was stronger than his and if she went after it, their packs could merge and would control the entire Eastern United States.

But first they had to get through her first full moon with his pack.

"Tell any omegas that you find that if they were Arctos they are welcome to come apply to myself and Caroline for entry into my pack" he tells them, "And I expect all of you there at the next gathering"

Now…to find his beautiful albeit peculiar little wolf.

* * *

A/N- more updates soon, I promise


End file.
